The Press., 1892-06-23

ing us from the wind as well as from my fathers observation, when Minnie caught sight of Digby walking along the Carracuil beach. He sauntered up to the base of the cliff, which was powder studded and sliiny from the receding tide, but instead of turning back Re kept on climbing over the great green slip pery stones, and threading his way among the pools until he was standing immediately 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 hurried glance around, and then slipping his hand into his pocket he pulled out the leather bag which had noticed and took out of it d small object which he held in the palm of his hand and looked at long and, 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
 
 picked his way back more cheerily than he had come.
 Minnie and looked at each other. She was smiling; was serious
 "Did you see it?" asked.
 'You? Aye. 1 saw it."
 What did you think it was, then?'' "A wee bit of glass;" she answered, looking at me with wondering eyes.
 ''No," cried excitedly. glass could never catch the suns rays so It was a diamond, and, if 1 mistake not, one of extraordinary value. It was as large as all have seen put together. and must be worth fortune"
 A diamond was mere name to poor, simple Minnie. who had never seen. one before, 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 little wiles in attempting to recall my attention. My mind was full of what had seen. Look where would the glistening of the breakers, or the sparkling of the mica laden rocks, recalled the brilliant facets of the gem which had seen. was moody and distraught, and eventu- ally let Minnie walk back to Corriemains by herself, while made my way to the homesteading. My father and Digby were just sitting down to the midday meal, and the latter hailed me cheerily
 Come along mate" he cried, pushing over stool. i've were just wondering what had become of you. An! you rogue l~ok I~o% le1l .I pretty wench l saw the other day that kept you"
 "Mind your own affairs" answered angrily.
 "Don't be thin skinned" he said young people should control their tenn pers, and you've got mighty bad one my lad. Have you heard that l am go ing to leave you?"
 "I'm sorry to hear it." 1 said frankly "when do you intend togo?"
 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 yor | a cruise"
 "What would be fair price for : craft of that sortY asked.
 "Forty thousand dollars" said our visi tor carelessly. ~.
 "You must very rich" remarked, ''tt throw away so much money on pleas ure."
 "Rich!' echoed my companion. his southern blood mantling up for mo ment. ''Rich; why, man, there is hardly imit-but there, was ro1nancing 1 bit. rp fairly we'll off. or shall be yer, shortly" 1sx <
 "How did you make your moneyy' asked. The question came so glibly tt my lips that had no time to check it though I felt the moment afterwart that had made mistake. Our gues drew himself into himself at once, ant took no notice of my query. while m. father said:
 Hush, Archie laddie. ye munna spec they questions of the gentleman!'' could see, however, from the old man eager gray eyes, looking out from unde the great thatch of his brows, that ht was meditating over the same problem himself
 During the next couple of days hesi tated very often as to whether shoult tell my father of what l had seen ant the opinions l had formed about ou visitor; but he forestalled me by makin: discovery himself which supplementet mine and explained all that. had abeel dark. It was one day when the strange was out for a ranble that, entering tn kitchen, found my father sitting by th fire deeply engaged in perusing a.news paper. spelling out the words laborious ly and following the lines with his grea forefinger As l came in he crumplet up the paper as if his instinct were t, conceal it, but then spreading it @ou again on his knee he beckoned me<ove to him.
 "Wha dye think this chiel Digby is? he asked could see by his manner tha he was much excited.
 "No good" answered. =
 Come here, laddie, come here!' h. croaked "You're braw scholar. Reat this tae me alood-read it and tell me you dinna think I've fitted the cap ol the right held. It's Glasgey Heral, only four days auld-a Loch Rang, feeshin boat brought it in the morn Be gin frae here-'Oor Paris Letter. Her it is. Fuller details:' read it a to me.
 began at the spot indicated, whicl was paragraph of the ordinary Frencl correspondence of the Glasgow paper. ran in this way: Fuller details hay now come before the public of the dia mond robbery by which the Duchesse d Rochvieille lost her celebrated gem. Tn diamond is a pure brilliant weighinl eighty-three and one-half carats, and i supposed to be the third a~gest il France and the seventeenth ill Europe It calno into the possession of the famil through the great-granduncle of tn duchesse, who fought under Bussy il India, and brought it back to Euror with him. Itrepresented fortune thel but its value now is simply enormou