St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-05

l
| when he said suddenly:
Look here, Kenton, you keep quiet
and all will be right. We'll leave this
| place as we found it, and, unless you
| speak, no one will know the grave was
| touched. and if you get into scrape
| you walk i'm with your eyes OPEN"
But suppose, Mr.. Stafford, it should
somehow be discovered that the dia-
mondS are gOne-what thenT'
"Diamonds" he said quickly. "What
| diamOnusp"
why, thought you were after
| them"
AS soon as had spoken the words,
saw had done wrong. He jumped To-
ward me as If he would have killed me-
Win blow, and, grasping my throat
fiercely, he demanded:
hat 40 you mean, man? What dia-
molldS? Speak outP'
releasing me as suddenly as he had
| taken hold, he asked, cooliy:
DO you mean That there are diamonds
| on that corpse?'
YES" replied; 1.-THE general pur-
chased diamond set, and -"
He turned quickly, ana called one of
| the men and said To MIN:
Keep your eye Oh this man; if he
moves Knock MN down." ana Strode
! rapidly on to the grave.
L saw that he gave the men some
! directions, but l could not hear what
| they were. heard, however, the
| Scrdplng OF the spades on the colin, and
knew their Work was nearly accoIn-
| plished.
They needed the assistance of the
man who was guarding lie, and he took
me to the grave with nIIn. Inc collin
was quickly hoisted up with ropes, and
| landed 10y the SIDE OF The hole.
go you TO the wagon Till WHISTLE"
| said Stafford. "Kenton is used To this
| thing and shall help me.''
The men Withdrew, and Stafford,
| handing me the tools, uade NE unscrew
| the coInn lii. was about to rel use, re-
| gardless of consequences, but the
! Strange look IN his eyes compelled me
against my Will to DO his DIudlng. L
commenced the WORK, and STAFFORD
stopping close 10 me Salu:
"kenton, your own safety cOmpels
your silence concerning what you dis
covered Tonight. / did not know there
was any watcning; did not KNOW tnere
were any DIAMONDS. to ON VITA Your
wurH; aOn't stop. THIS coffin contains
my wife-my wife, kentOn, anu her
father knows it, and Duries her in the
ground. leaving HE to discover It as L
| can. | Swore not even death should
part us, and I'll Keep my oath. She S
lnine III spite OF law, spite OF malice anu
preJudlce-Sne'S milne, and / ciaIm my
OWL"
The lid was unscrewed and l rose
from the ground.
stay here. kenton," he said, and
stopped to lift the Id from the coffin.
For an instant. it flashed through my
mind to push him over into the grave,
Escape, aud give the alarm; but l had
not the heart to do it, ami besides, l
thought it would then become known
that there was but one watcher.
He removed the lid, anu there lay the
generals daughter as saw her on the
day OF the funeral, aS natural as though
she were but sleeping.
He raised the corpse from the coffin,
and throwing his arm around it. he
pressed it closely to him. swaying to
and fro.
ION, my dear one, my life, my SOUL"
he said, lis it thus we meet again?' and
he sobbed aloud, and | myself felt like
joining him.
He quickly recovered himself, how.
ever, and slowly rested the body back
into the casket. AS he did so he no.
ticed paper, and, bringing the light
towards it, he called me to him, and
| said, eagerly:
Look, Kenton-see. told you she
was my wife-our certificate"
1t was certificate of their marriage.
snow, Kenton, you have sen with
| your own eyeS-you knOw-and should
| you hear her fair name maligned, brand
| the speakers liars, kenton, liars. But
L forgot, you are forced to keep quiet,
| and Della, my dear one, must go I'M
righted. But enough. Look here, Ken
ton, claim my own, nothing more.
Here, see these diamonds"
He carefully removed them. kissing
| the cold clay again and again as he did
so, and laid them in the coffin. The
certificate he put in his pocket, and
then he raised the body and laid it upon
| the ground.
Now" he said, "screw on the lid
| quickly, and I'll call the men to fill the
| hole.''
screwed on the lid, he gave a low
| whistle, and the men came back, lead
| ing a horse and wagon, which they left
| standing at the gate.
He mOtioned them to fill the grave,
| and, taking up the body, he carried it
himself and laid it in the wagon, and
| called me to him.
Ppm going. Kenton," he said. 81
may be able one of these days to openly
avOw to-night'S work: in that case you
shall not suffer, and If you are silent
and discreet you shall be rewarded.
FAREWELL"
But, Mr.. Stafford" l said, you
| mustn't go till everything is right again.
| Suppose these men refuse to work after
| you're gone, what then. You must
stay"
"What men?" he asked. II see no
menu
Startled at his words and look,
| turned around and saw, with astonish-
ment, that the men had g0ne-no trace
of them was visible. l was frantic with
alarm. and the very urgency of my
position gave me courage.
what does this mean, Mr.. Stafford?'
l cried. what trick is this? You must
come and fill that grave"
Nonsense, man." he answered, "don't
be foolish. Pm late now, and shall have
hard driving to make time" and he
took the reins to start the horse.
| l Sprang to the horses head and
grasped the bride.
you shall not leave, Mr.. Stafford,
until you fix everything as it was. You
promised to do so, and you must"
| He jumped up in the seat, fire fairly
flashing from his eyes.
'Fool'' he shouted, ''out of the way,
| or your body shall fill the grave" and
he struck at me with the whip.
Then suddenly l remembered my
| pistol, and thought what a fool | had
been to forget it so long. l drew it
out.
IF you move, Mr.. Stafford, fire.
He struck the horse terrible blow
that caused him to dash wildly forward.
pulled the trigger, heard the explosion
and
Woke up in reality to find my partner
bending over and shaking me.
ga pretty thing" he said. "if we'd
done what you wanted and watched
alone. Here you've been sleeping half
the night. A pretty one to watch, you
are. amt you?''
| stared at him a moment, and then,
without word, went to the window.
The grave was undisturbed. | rubbed
my eyes. Yes. all was right-poor Della
lay sleeping peacefully.
WHAT time is 1t, Tom?" ] asked.
"Just struck 6. Go to breakfast"