Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-01-25

% bsA THAT her sister, whom she had expected
es4,,a,at would go with hes, had disappointed
,l.I<) her at the last moment. She, however,
sl 81 could not wait until the following day,
80 - as her father, who was at Nice for his
health, had wired her to return at once.
''She spoke of her dislike for travel
ing; that, as the compartment reserved
for ladies was full, she had been obliged
to enter NINE She was sorry to intrude,
nv u but the train was about to start and the
guard had told her all the other seats
7 Il r. were taken.,~z-r I.r4 r.
/ A:EfEsE$HI fastened to assure her that I was
I'LL glad Of the lucky chance that had given
me so charming companion. She snil-
ed and asked me If was to be long at
~ Nice. She chatted on about the place,
mentioning the names of many we'll
' PSI known people, who she said, were her
a4Y,e friends and whom I should no doubt
ynI Ills meet. 10 asiioa sl' ~ H .iaA1'"
.Ds al <53'l.As the evening wore on she opened
9ejnqe a basket containing dainty lunch.
81 Would share it with her? The cook
oWt a"evidently had ridiculous idea Of her
! 10 i!A -. appetite Why, there was enough for
5gs9fgs six! ;, This seemed to be the case. So, as
1o} 1--we were by this time very well acquaint-
bus s9fed,4I accepted her invitation, and we
a ont 1,were soon doing Justice to really ex-
ra gfs., lcellent lunch. All I.9 ar.iel- ''-i-
zls5w 1a18"tWhat charming creature she lisp
1ol sGd thought. How Edith will like hern
9'i} = - Growing confidential, I spoke Of my
visit to Nice and of the dear girl who
was awaiting me there She seemed in
terested and listened patiently to the
~ recital of my fair ones many charms.
10 You WIFI meet her and can see for
yourself if all say of her is not truep
<ea ~I9exelaimed. She will be very grateful
to you for having made this stupid
journey pleasant for me-
I've wall drink her healthR cried
my companion gayly, drawing small
silver flask Of exquisite workmanship
ess ssfroms thes depths of. her basket al
las ways carry a little cognac with me IN
case of sickness, she explained. Open
ling the flask and filling dainty glass
y Is with fhesanlaer liquid, she handed 1T. to
me- with radiant smile. ITO Edith's
health, she said GO
81 drained the glass IT was brandy;
of the finest quality E-had ever tasted.
She seemed to read my thoughts.
"'You are judge Of good liquor.
That is Otard of 1870 s5gs
''Talzing the glass from my hand, she
Is poured a little ofsthe liquor into it and
f barely touched it to her lips.
10y on must not -judge~my- good
wishes by the amount [ take wish
you all the happiness that life can give,
but cannot drink as you men do. To
me it is simply medicinea=s=4A $685.
"Soon after this I began to grow
sleepy, and as my companion did not
y seem inclined to talk made myself as
| =, comfortable as circumstances would
permit I turned my head toward the
window, through which the surround
ing country could be seen di1nly in the
moonlight, as we rushed along, and re-
signed myself to a night of comfort.
The next thing it was broad daylight.
awoke with a dull pain in my head
and a sense of WEAKNESS that my sleep
had rather increased than diminished.
My companion was sitting by the
81 window reading the book I had given
IL her the night before. On perceiving that
~ 81 was awake she put down her book
& 'v1S and remarked that ] wasa sound sleeper
= and that she envied me. She had passed
awretched night and was glad that we
syould soon be in Nice. I Thought Of
Edith whom I should now see so soon,
and then Of the surprise had in store
- for her. r - fYEf-s >
Il x a~''I~hoped that the necklace would
please her, and then. for the first time,
it occurred to me that perhaps it would
have been better if had consulted some
T. woman of taste before buying it A
III brilliant idea struck Me-1ny compall-
ion was just the one to decide 1 would
ask her opinion. 1t was not too late to
change the necklace for something else
if she thought it not suitable I was
sure she would tell me candidly just
,Er what she tleught} 1y 4.'gT / pi N
-" " I. ''Unbutecning my coat, I drew the
package from my pocket and laid it on
my lap. Removing the wrappings.
opened the little blue casket. For a 1uo-
ment / could s.os. believe my eyes~i
'''ttu1ned quickly to my companion
She was leaning forward motionless
~ "A breathless,s face pale and in her syes
1911 = gFISFfsS ! u ~
look that shall never forget One
hand was passed conyulsively over her
heart She had removed her gloves,
worn the night before, and on one finger
blazed a diam ond-the one had seen
s---,z--~ti,e previous day at the jewelers. In
all instants>I saw it ALL sprang for
Me- ward and rgraspea her wrist-aoughly,
W. I am afraid. H. ( / -
{" Give me back that necklace, you
theft I cried. 'Iknow you You stood
by my side yesterday in the jeweler'
shop on the Avenue de lOpera re-
Smember that ring and your voice. You
heard me say that I vas going to Nice
by this train. The liquor you gave me
was dragged. and you thought to es-
cape before your theft was discovered.
1t was very clever scheme. but it has
failed. Give me the. necklace, or shall
81 turn you over to the POLICE.
sSss@# I4stretched out my hand. thinking
that, seeing the folly of further con
cealment and the uselessness of denial
she world return, the stolen property 1
was wrong. She drew herself up haugh.
hahn tily and looked nae full In the face
HJAlWhen she spoke it-was in voice that
showed no trace Of the sweetness which
had at first attracted me.
"'You have brought serious charge
against me, she said. and oneof which
.eaAEIs ain innocent. I am alone and WON
an, this with a momentary tremor in
- her voice that somehow made me
~ ashamed of the way 1 hadspoken to her
E@$ I'll, as syou~ say you have lost a neck
lace your only reason for accusing me
of having stolen it is that we have been
theonly occupants Of this compartment.
The instant you opened the box and
found it empty saw the position was