The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1889-01-05
Pistols and Diamonds.

Uncle Meriwether never liked Eus-
tace. He never did him justice from
the beginning, and when he heard
that was actually engaged to him
he spoke in such way that | de-
clared / wouldn't endure it.
81 am old enough, I hope, to
choose for myself" said l.
81 don't know about that, Patty"
said my uncle, struggling his shout
;ders.
But ] remained to hear no more.
/ fiounced back into the house, slam
ming the door in Uncle Meriwether's
honest, specialized face, and bursting
into tears as soon as reached the
sitting room.
'Tt's o shame" said my sister
Elspeth. ''Don't cry, Patty; Pm
sure the whole matter is transparent
enough. Uncle Meriwether wouldn't
be so domineering about it if he did
not want you to marry Paul"
81 wouldn't marry Paul Meriwether
if there wasn't another man in the
world" said I, viciously. "And I'll
marry Eustace Dalzell anyhow, now.
Uncle Meriwether says we don't know
anything about him, but Pm sure
we know enough"
That was false assertion on my
part. I only knew of my handsome
fance what he himself had chosen to
tell me-namey, that he was New
York engineer staying down at
Wraysfield a few weeks for his health.
And his friend, Mr.. .Belfield, was a
stock broker. Oh, how 1 wished Mr..
Belfield might take a fancy to Elspeth.
1t would be so nice to be married at
the same time-to go together and
live in New York;
We lived together in the lonely old
brick house on the edge of the moor,
so that l was very glad when Olive
Oatley came down from Chichester
to visit it, and brought her wedding
set of diamonds to show.
Elspeth and l looked with awe and
admiration at the sparkling gems
necklace, earrings and brooch.
care they very valuable?" asked
"Three thousand dollars, I believe,
said Olive, complimentary. "They
belonged to Herbert's mother, and
they are to be reset before I wear
them"
But just then EIspeth gave a start
and turned scarlet, and following the
direction of her eye | turned scarlet,
and beheld Eustace Dalzell standing
smiling in the doorway, with his hat
in his hand.
Somehow the diamonds made me
nervous, and I could not help, in the
course of the evening, confding my
vague terrors to Eustace.
But Eustace laughed at me, and
made light of my fears
Eustace Dalzell went home earlier
than usual this night. In my per-
turbation / had almost resolved to
ask him to remain all night, a self
constituted guardian of our treas
ures, but / did not venture to do SO,
and so at 10 o'clock we three girls,
with Dinah in the kitchen, were left
to ourselves.
had intended to lie awake all
night, but must have fallen into a
light doze without being aware of it,
for the clock was stricking II when
started up at the loud peal of the
door bell below. Olive was at my
side in an instant. Elspeth had her
arm around me, and even Dinah
hobbled in with a flaring lamp in her
hand.
$50 to the door, do, some ofyou,"
cried I Historically. "Ask who it is.
Ask what they want"
And while Olive, Elspeth, and the
old attendant obeyed my behest. l
hurriedly threw on my white dressing
gown and went to the head Of the
stairs to listen, for I felt that in an
emergency like this some one ought
to keep close to the diamonds.
'"There is no one here" heard
Elspeth say, after the bolts and the
bars of the front door were with
drawn.
Eyes, there is. 81 hear some one
grooming at the other end of the
veranda," persisted Dinah. ooh,
dear, the draught has blown out my
candle. This way, Miss Oately,
please-I'm afraid there's been an &C
cident or something"
The next minute the heavy oaken
door blew shut with bang. 1t was
self-fastening on the inside. / was
all alone in the house.
A rustic under the vines that
draped the north side of the house.
O low whistle, and could hear voice
saying in suppressed accents:
"They're safe enough outside, all
three of 'em. Now's your time
Quick!'
1t all flashed on my mind in a sec
ond-the sturdy boughs of the wis
TARA, which afforded SO easy a Ladder
for an aspiring burglar to reacl
Olives window-the open casemen
the diamonds lying underneath tn
pillow. My worst fears had com
j true, and Selling the six-barrelle
little pistol rushed into the room
just in time to see tan figure wit
a mask over it's face spring into tn
window and steal with cat-like mo
ton across the room.
AS his hand lay on the tiny cal
vass bag containing the pceciou
Jewels raised the pistol and free
At the same moment a muttere
oath, mingled with a cry, sounde
in my ears and the sound of SOM
thing falling shook the beams OF th
floor.
lam not one the fainting kind, br
for O minute or two l stood motion
Jess. Then springing down stairs
| admitted the three eager WOme VIII