Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-04-09

Long ago, in the good old time
which people sigh for, folk were hung
for stealing. Proved guilty, after q
careless fashion. which would bring
Judge Lynch to his feet for the bene-
fit Of the court, were it practiced now,
they were strung up without mercy,
and no. half the fuss was made about
the execution Of q woman who had
stolen a loaf Of bread that would be
made now over the execution of a
wholesale poisoner or the midnight as.
sassin of women and children. No
qualms of conscience were felt, and
all believed that. capital punishment
done away with, no ones property
would be safe an hour.
Consequently when Miss Black.
thwaits lost her diamonds the fact
that any one might be suspected was
a very nervous thought to the house.
hold.
Of course Major Blackthwaite, her
brother, and her friend, Miss Whit
more, who was on a visit at the house,
were out of the question, but there
were the servants, one at least, quite
new to the establishment, and oddly
enough, every one of them had, to the
knowledge of every one else, been in
the room where the diamonds were
left between the moment when she
had known them to be safe and the
one when she had missed them.
Miss Blsckthwaite had come from
the country ball woefully tired, quite
worn out, for she was a delicate little
creature, who could not bear az much
dancing as some women can, and had
undressed herself in a hurry and just
wrapped herself in her white night
gown. when the wind, which was
high that night, sent sharp blast
through a window frame not over
tightly set, and firted the curtain
with the candle. The consequence
was confagration on a small scale.
Miss Blackthwaite rushed out scream.
ing. Her brother and the servants
rushed in. Buckets of water were
thrown on the flames, and noise enough
made to shame New York fire COM
pany of the olden time. Finally the
fire was extinguished. and the lady
returned to her pillow. In The morn.
ing her diamonds were gone. She re.
membersd having put them in a Ger.
tain box upon her dressing table, in
tending to close and lock it before re.
firing. She had not done so, for in
her terror she had forgotten all about
the jewels, and they had either been
lost or stolen.
1t was 10 o'clock when she awoke,
and her window was wide open. But
it was too far from the ground for any
one to have obtained entrance in that
way. And at first Major Blackthwaite,
who would not suspect his servants
of dishonesty, declared that Ruth
must have had them in her hand
and put them down somewhere, or
that had been thrown upon the floor
by accident. Therefore, search was
made in the room itself, in all the
halls, 10 the Majors room, to which
his sister had first flown for aid, in
Miss Whitmorss, and, in fact, every.
where where there was any possibili.
ty of their having concealed them.
selves in that odd fashion which would
almost convince one that "inanimate
objects could enjoy the anxiety and
tribnlations of their possessors and
maliciously play hide and seek.
But. in this case. the missing OBJ.
jects were not found concealed in any
crack, or crsvice, or under any rug,
or behind any heavy article of furni.
ture. or in any pocket, or lining, OF
shoe. In fact, after a careful search
ofthree mortal dsyA it was dsterm.
med that they were stolen. And, il
stolen, that one of the servants mus,
be the culrrit. Therefore. Major
Blackthwaite walked into the kitchen
with a very solemn countenancs and
called the servants about him.