Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1895-05-03
VIII.

ance of the great ruby to mistake an
other for it, for I doubt whether it has
a mate in existence. The gem shown me
by Burling was magnificent specimen,
but at most it was no more than two
thirds the size Of the stone sold to Sand
husen.
My chagrin and astonishment were
deep, but I yelled them under express
sions of admiration Of the stone, which
took from it's box and held up to the
light and fondled it as if loath to let it
90.
"What do you intend to do with it,
Burling?"
1T goes to Amsterdam by steamer
this afternoon. Sorry to part with it,
but business is business.
Burling was Of q frugal turn, and
there could be no doubt that he would
make handsome thing from his bar
gain. Such a stone would not wait long
for customer, and he would doubtless
obtain three or four times as much as
he paid.
wonder whether the suspicious cir
cumstances clinging to the gem could
have been any spur to his haste.
Here is a new turn of the Wheel" I
reflected as I walked back to my store
"Mr. Howard was the owner Of two
rubies of unapproachable merit. Can it
be that he has any more slowed away
in that travelling bag? Possibly he has
a dozen or a score, and some of them
may be bigger than any he has display
ed as yet.
"Of course he managed to get posses
sion of Mana Sahib's ruby. He is too
cautious to offer it in New York. It
will 20 to some Partisan dealer or some
wealthy Englishman or German. Sand
husen is not likely to see it again.
Burling called for me on his way
home, and we rode up town together
BE took occasion to tell me that the
ruby had been sent that afternoon to
Amsterdam, and am sure he felt that
great load had been lifted from his
mind.
Human nature seeks oonfdant. I
am told that a large number of crimi-
mails owe their punishment to this law,
which leads them to impart their fatal
secrets to others.
take to myself some credit that I
never dropped hint for days and weeks
about Mana Sahib's ruby to any living
person, except Geoffrey Sandhusen, who
already knew as much as I did. was
on the point several times of telling my
wife or Burling, and I fear that some
thing of the kind would have been done
but for the safety escape in the form Of
my friend at the Windsor. We fire.
quentIy dined together, even after he
went back to his home on the return Of
his family from abroad. When we were
alone, there was only one theme Of con-
versation, and we remained in the dark
as much as ever.
1t was easy to learn from inquiry at
the Windsor that Mrs Howard had left,
but if any one knew whittier she had
gone such knowledge was not impaired
to US. When Ipresented my card in the
Office of the Astor House, with a re-
quest that it be sent to the room Of MIR.
Howard Il could easily make a pretext
for calling on him), was told that he
had been gone several days. l fell to
looking for him on the street, but was
not fortunate enough to see him.
When two weeks had passed without
the slightest word from Carl Wittner, a
new cause Of anxiety arose. Inquiries
sent to his house were answered that it
was not known when he would return.
Nothing had been heard from him for q
week. Ordinarily this would have been
cause for alarm, but Wittner had taught
his wife never to feel misgiving, even
if she failed to get word from him for q
much longer period. His situation was
often such that it was indisoreet for
him to send anything through the mails.
"She may not be alarmed for her
husband" remarked Sandhusen, ''but
I am"
"Whyp"
"Those East Indians are as treaoher-
GUS as the cobras Of their own country,
and there is none subtler and more dan
gerous than this Howard"
''But if any i'll has befallen Witt
ner," said I, more disturbed than was
willing to admit, something would
have been known Of it by this time"
Ordinarily you would be right, but
recall how many crimes of that kind
have been committed which did not
come to light for years. Wittner has
probably used some sort of disguise,
which, if harm has come to him, has
prevented his Identification. 1t may be
that his fate will never be known.
81 am not prepared to give up hope" "
"Nor am l, but cannot conceive that
he should remain all this time as utter
ly lost to the world, or at least to us, as
if he had never existed"
Greatly depressed, left the home Of
my friend and Went tu my own. man
aged to conceal from my family the trou-
BILE that was with nie in my dreams as
we'll as waking hours Somehow or 9TH
er I could not rid myself of certain
feeling that was responsible to a par
tial extent for the misfortune.
81 ought to have known that that
man was a miscreant when he offered
me priceless ruby fer a nominal SUM.
T chonld NOT have lallied but refused to