Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-28

are mere Californian vaccination
marks, You can excuse my being little
ready with my own irons, though, when I've
been dropped so often"
Whats this?" 1 asked, pointing to q
little chamois-leather bag which was hung
by strong cord round his neck. "1t looks
like charm"
He buttoned up his tunic again hastily,
looking extremely disconnected. ut is
nothing" he said brusquely. II am a
Roman Catholic, and it is what we call a
scapular." 1 could hardly get another
word out of him that night, and even next
day he was reserved and appeared to avoid
me. This little incident made me very
thoughtful, the more so as noticed shortly
afterward when standing over him that the
string was no longer round his neck. Ap-
parently he had taken it off after my re-
mark about it. What could there be in
that leather bag which needed such secrecy
and precauticnI Had l but known it
would sooner have put my left hand in the
fire than have pursued that inquiry.
One of the peculiarities of our visitor was
that in all his plans Tor the future, wit
which he often RECALLED us, he seemed en-
tirely untrammeled by any monetary con-
siderations. He would talk in the lightest
anu must on-udHu way VI scHemeS nHiCu
would involve the outlay of much wealth
My fathers eyes would glisten as he heard
him talk carelessly of sums which to our
frugal minds appeared enormous. 1t
seemed strange to both of US that man
who by his own confession had been a
vagabond and adventurer all his life,
should be in possession, ,,.of such fortune.
NV father was inclined to put it down to
some stroke of luck on the American gold
fields. 1 had my own ideas even then
chaotic and half-ormed as vet, but tending
in the right direction.
1t was not long before these suspicious
began to assume a more definite shape,
which came about in this way. Minnie and
1 made the summit of the Combera cliff a
fayoriIe trysting place, as l think I men,
TONED before, and it was rare for a day to
pass without our spending two or three
hours there. One morning, not long after
my chat with our guest, we were seated
together in little nook there, which we mad
chosen as sheltering us from the wind as
we'll as from my fathers observa-
ton, when Minnie caught sight of Digby
walking along the Carracuil beach. He
sauntered up to the base of the cliff, which
was boulder-studded and Shiny from the re-
cedlng tide, but instead of turning back he
kept on climbing over the great green slip
perry stones, and threading his way among
the pools until he was standing immedi-
ately beneath us so that we looked straight
down at him. To him the spot must have
seemed the very acme of seclusion, with the
great sea In front, the rocks on each side,
and the precipice behind. Even had he
looked up, he could hardly have made out
the two human faces, which peered down at
him from the distant ledge He gave hur-
ried glance around, and then slipping his
hand into his pocket, he pulled out the
leather bag which I had noticed, and took
out of it a small object which he held in the
palm of his hand and looked at 1t long, as it
were, lovingly. We both had an excellent
view of it from where we lay. He then
replaced it in the bag, and showing
it down to the very bottom OF his pocket
picked his waysback more cheerily than he
had come.
Minnie and looked at each other. She
was smiling. was serious.
Did you see it?'' l asked.
"Yon? Aye, l saw it,.
"What did you think it was, then?'
"a wee bit of glass" she answered,
looking at me with wondering eyes.
No." 1 cried excitedly, "glass could
never catch the suns rays so. 1t was dia-
mond, and il l mistake not, one Of ex-
traordinary value. 1t was as large as all
have seen put together, and must be
worth fortune"
A diamond was a mere name to poor,
simple Minnie, who had never seen one be-
fore, nor had any conception of their value,
and she prattled away to me about this and
that but 1 hardly heard her.
In vain she exhausted all her lit
tie wiles IT. attempting to recall my
attention. My mind was full of what L
had seen. Look where l would, the glisten-
ing Of the breakers, or the sparkling of the
miea-laden rocks, recalled the brilliant
facets of the gem which L had seen. l was
moody and distraught, and eventually let
Minnie walk back to Corriemains by her.
SELL while L made my way to the home
Stealing. My father and Digby were Just
sitting down to the midday meal, and the
latter hailed me cheerilv.
"Come along, mate" he cried, pushing
over stool. 1--WE were ust wondering what
had become of you. All: you rogue, I'll bet
my bottom dollar it was that pretty.wench 1
saw the other day who Kept you"
"Mind your own affairs" / answered
angrily.
"Don't be thin-skinned," he said, young
people should control their tempers, and
you've got mighty bad one, my lad. Have
you heard that am going to leave you"
"I'm sorry to hear it, l said frankly;
"when do YOU intend to gu?"
"Next week," he answered, "but don't be
afraid you'll see me again. I've had too
good time here to forget you easily. I'm
going to buy a good steam yacht-250 tons
or thereabouts-and I'll bring her round in
few months and give you cruise"
What would be fair price for craft of
that sort?" l asked.
Forty thousand dollars" said our
visitor, carelessly.
"You must be very rich," remarked,
ITO throw away so much money on pleasure"
''Richl' echoed my companion, his South
ern blood mantling up for moment.
'.Rich, why man, there is hardly a limit
but there, 1 was romancing bit. I'm fairly
well of, or shall be very shortly"
"How did you make your money!" 1
asked. The question came so glioly to my
lips that l had no time to check it, though
l felt the moment afterwards that L had
made a mistake. Our guest drew himself
into himself at once, and took no notice OF
my query, while my father said:
"Husb, Archie laddie, ye munna speer
they questions O. the gentleman" I could
see, however, from the old mans eager grew
eyes, looking out from under the great
tna;ch of his brows, that he was meditating
over the same problem himself.
During the next couple of days I hesi-
tated very often as to whether 1 should tell
my father of what had seen and tine opin-
ions had formed about our visitor; but he
forestalled ME by making discovery him
self which supplemented mine and ex-
planned all that had been dark. 1t was one
day when the stranger was out for ramble,
that, entering the kitchen, 1 found my father
sitting by the fire deeply engaged in pe-
rusing a newspaper. spelling out the words
laboriously. and following the lines with