The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-09-21


occasion, were arranged SO as to form a
magnificent suite of reception rooms.
The gardens were Illuminated, and the
terrace on to which the princes private
rooms opened turned into a bower of
roses.
Nora Cannock was a beautiful woman,
but it required very special order of
beauty and dress to shine among that,
apart from metaphor. "glittering throng." :"
The diamond, the great flashing, daz-
cling lakelet that seemed to hold heart
of lurid fire within it, obtained this dis
tinction for its wearer. The Orange dia-
mond became prevailing topic of dis
cussion The rajah, who blazed, as
Nora said to her husband, like a tree at
Botanical gardens fetc, one mass of
colored jewels, was attracted at once bv
the rare splendor of the great diamond
Tie had passion for precious stones
and eagerly asked all about it.
The detective was present; he had
walked behind his ten thousand pound
charge into the exhibition, and every now
and then Nora saw him unobtrusively
moving about. Nora had already been
glad of his watchfulness, for between her
carriage and the entrance she had fallen
a pace or two behind her husband, who
had a proper martial stride, and sudden
ly man, artisan or mechanic, had ap-
peared, blocking her way for single in
slant He had looked full in her face,
with an eager rather than impudent air,
and asked in a distinct but rough voice,
"Where is Jim:"
She glanced back, satisfied to see the
detectives sallow, wien face close ut
hand, and the man disappeared in the
darkness, but his voice fingered i'll her
ear. She was sensitive to tones, and
there was peculiar ring of pain and
bitterness in it.
"lle is mad" she thought pitifully,
"but mad from misery of some kind;"
and again and again that "Whcro is
Jim?'-thc aimless query seemingly
wrung from IL deeply troubled SQUIRE
CURED to her memory.
1tsct her fancifully thinking by and by
OF the many astray and wandering in this
perpleNed world. This ball was very
gorgeous and very pleasant, but it seem
l,
just one blazing spot of beauty and lux
ury in wide, wide sea of sadness and
wistful seeking after many things lost OF
unobtainablc.
''Thcrc must be Il good many lost Jims
about she thought with Il little smile,
as her memory fitted back Il good
many years to an old young love of
hers, young fellow whose name, being
too romantic and sounding for Saxon
taste, had always been known as "Jim''
by his intimate friends. He had spent
a year in her old home, and it had been
a year Of great enjoyment, endless fun.
merging by degrees into serious love
making. He had not been the most
satisfactory Of youths, rather sc;pc.
grace, in short, but terribly winning, and
when he went away to make fortune
after showing greater capacity for spend
ing one, Nora's heart was very near
breaking. This was long ago, and she
was a far happier woman than if she
had had tho misfortune to marry tina,
first love Of hers. Nevertheless, there
was always soft spot in her heart fol
him, and she rcproachcd herself for hav-
ing allowed the time to slip by for un.
| swering his last letter. She resolved to
write II. tho chance of his being still in
the same place. All these reflections
| flashed in AMI out of the brief spaces
during which sh, was not actually in
conversation with one friend or another,
while tho ball was running out its bril-
liant sands.
Col. Cannock meanwhile was very
we'll amused, having found many an old
acquaintance, chiefly civil servants in
high posts, on leave. lie had lived
so long in India that to meet them
was n refreshing excitement for him.
Ono of them, Sir Meredith Walton, who
had just retired into private life with his
X. c. M. e.. was discovered by him at a
whist table. Walton's play was thing
to watch respectfully, dcvoutly indeed
by IL true whist player, and Col. Can
mock stationed himself behind his back
Presently he resigned his seat to another
dcvotee of the science, and went for a
stroll with Cannock, having up to this
time seen nothing but the four suits and
the green cloth. But one flash of his
keen hazel eyes took i'll more than Col.
Canncck, who was talking without cessa-
ton, had absorbed in the course of hours.
People, things, places, were tcLctcd by
some electric mind process, amd popped
into their inches, not to be moved again.
Cannock had told the story of the
Orange diamond, and was now looking
about eagerly for the wcarer of it.
|
look-just between those palms-that is
the detective fellow they have put on
guard over the diamond"
Sir Meredith looked between the palms
and stroked his mustache once deliber-
| atcly. He was q man who dealt out
words as grains Of gold.
That is no detective, he said placidly.
What he said was never taken with a
disrespectful pinch of salt-a light doubt.
Col. Cannock seized him by the arm,
asked what he meant, protested, as
sured, but looked anxious.
"If were betting man 1 would lay
you twenty pounds on it. Give me leave
to telegraph to Mcssrs. N, and 1 will
speak to my boy Ii Che"
Ii Che, superior Chinalnan in blue
silk, long pigtail, hands folded under his
open sleeves. in priestly fashion. and
| with the hollow cheeks of an opium
eater, was on duty in the Chinese court.
| The two men turned in that direction,
and the soft footed Celestial glided up at
a sign from his master. a few rapid Or
ders in pigeon English, received with a
series of small mods by Ii Che, and
the Chinaman followed at a short dis.
tance, while the two Englishmen re-
turned to the spot from whence they had
seen the detective. He had gone. Sir
Meredith said:
Come and find your wife; he will not
be far off,
A minute later they saw the man,
checked in his progress by a throng Of
the rajah's guests inarshaling about
royalty. His sallow face had Strange
withered look, his eyes were cast down,
but shot restlcssly from side to side,