The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-03-05

seemed l1kely TO prevent the iOVaDl6 SlQe
of his character from hardening.
The day was spent in making pleasant
plans. and in those mutual Questionings
and discoveries of sympathy in the past
which are new cords of attachment
There was then little society liz the
modern sense in Cairo. and the engage
ment was not buzzed about and COM
mented upon. Only two or three of the
closer acquaintances of the CathcartS
were told of it and offered congratula-
tons. In the afternoon the betrothed
lovers drove out together, and of course
went to the Shubra Road. From the mo
ment when he asked Vera to take stroll
IN the palm orchard that morning Devil
had thought of nothing else but his vic
torious love, but now the familiar avenue,
the gnarled sycamores, the canopy of To-
llage, the alternating sun and shadow and
the group of gay carriages (for 1t was Fri
day brought back the other memory.
| They drove almost to the palace gate,
then returned. A few yards from the
usual spot he saw Idris. The dwarf evil
IDENTIFY expected him to stop and, he fan
cled, made signal TO him. The next
moment he came up with the brougham,
and perhaps by accident, perhaps at a
sign TO the native coachman, his own
open victoria stopped. He looked in
stinctively into the window and met the
full gaze of the princess. She had the
and he saw her whole face. The eyes
were blazing with passion the nostrils
dlstended, the teeth set, the great lips
shut tight. AS Devil caught sight of the
mask he lnstinctively put up his hand to
shelter his Vera. The princess saw the
protecting action. He scarcely knew
whether 1t was fancy or fact, but he
thought she made counter gesture
with her henna-tipped fingers as if draw
ing something from her bosom.
What strange face looked out of that
carriage window" said Vera. st re-
minded me Of one of LIE Bruins prints in
the study at home"
Our dwarf does not seem as cheerful
as usual tonight" said BeYil, shrinking
from the subject.
He looked keen enough as he passed
US IN the orchard of palms this morn
ing" said Vera.
Did he pass us there?" asked BeviI.
| Il did not see him."
Il thought you did not" said Vera,
archly.
The next day there were unmistakable
signs of something wrong at the hotel
The walters were clustered in groups in
the passage, not marShaled at their
posts The manager, usually oiled and
curled, was standing on the terrace run
ming his hands wildly through his hair
Two janissaries from the English Con
sulate Were stationed at the door, and
two more We're standing sentry over a
line OF native servants who were drawn
up in the garden. The guests were talk
ing vociferously on the terrace, and the
words suspected" robbery i'm
mense value' were banded about. In
brief, a serious robbery had been COM
| mitted, and Lady Brabazon's Jewels had
! been stolen The topic occupied every
body tor the day. and the widest and
most unlikely conjectures were haZarded
as to the nationality of the thief and the
| method OF his procedure. A little later
the reports were absurdly contradictory.
| This was the first robbery that had ever
taken place at the HOTEL There was
a robbery regularly every season."
Lady Brabazon's pdru9'e was worth
92,000-." Lady Brabazon's poruye was
entirely paste"
The usual nine days passed, however,
and the interest of all but the plundered
| lady and the hotel-keepers cooled. Cairo
was soon to find more absorbing topic
! of conversation.
One evening Vera had retired early.
tired with long ride to the Mokattaln
hills, and Devil was intending to sit on
the terrace. To avoid twentieth descrip-
| ton of the robbery from Sir David. whom
he saw bearing down upon him, he
! strolled down the steps into the open
place. be had not gone far when he was
! accoSted by thin man in black coat
and a fez. Thinking he was one of the
usual crowd of applicants for 6aksheesh,
! Bevil hurried on, but hearing the man
say something about the robbery and
mention the name of Lady Brabazon, he
| stopped.
| Does the khG-Wd-gdb I3agEeeze English
gentleman want to find all the things for
the Sitt Lladyl? If he will come with me
he cam" said the man. Look here''-
and he showed a bracelet of sparkling
! diamonds.
| There was no mistake about this action.
and Devil, thinking he might be on the
scent, stopped under one of the oil lamps
| which were suspended from the branches
OF the trees few and far between. He now
saw that the speaker was a negro, and
that he undoubtedly had some superb
| diamonds in his black fingers.
Give me those" said the English
man.
| He laid them in Bevips hand and beck
| oned him to come little farther, pointing
to small booth near a clump of trees
| where there were some other figures
| Assured by the mans readiness to give
up the jewels, he followed, but directly
ne stepped out of the ring OF the lamp
| light he was struck down by violent
blow with stick which laid him stunned
| on the ground. Two strong slaves caught
him up, muffied his head in a shawl, and
carried him TO carriage which stood
| waiting. The man who had accosted him
| took the bracelet from his hand with a
| quiet laugh, and gave few directions to
the coachman and the slaves. Then he
| got into another carriage in which a dwarf
| was seated, and the two carriages drove
away into the darkness.
| The particulars of Brereton's seizure
were obtained long afterward from a
| pencil narrative written by himself.
| Neither his friends nor the authorities
| had anything to go upon. a waiter at
| the hotel saw him light a cigar and 90
| down the steps about ten O'clock Moth
! ing more was known. The open space
| before Shepherds was ill-lighted, and
was not considered very safe after dark;
] but no disappearance like this had ever
been recorded, and indeed robberies of
Englishmen were not frequent. The
| police arrangements at Cairo were SLOW
| emily, but they had certain Vigor of pro-
! cedure which detected crime when it was
understood that the Government was in
! earnest. The English Foreign Office
wrote dispatches, and the Consul-Gen-
eral had interviews with the Pasha. The
native authorities were pressed so hard
| that they were shaken out of their apathy,
and spared neither threats, brides, nor
! beatings, but nothing could be ascer-
| tanned. From that February night Devil
| Brereton had vanished and all record of
| him was obliterated.
| | have read all the official correspond
ence which passed relating to 1.-THE re-
markabIe disappearance of an English
man." and examined files of newspapers
to find all the printed information on the
subject, but, as said before, it is mac
/ curate and inconsistent. \ draft of a
| will was found in his letter-case, leaving
! all his property to Vera Cathcart, but it