The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-07-18
Adeane was one of a gang Of scientific

with which he insisted, begged, fmplored,
her to keep silence-it might have been
some swift and sudden piecing together
of fragments of evidence aud incidents
which had puzzled her in the past-it
might have been any or all of these things,
anyway, certain it is that in the flash of a
moment, the twinkling of any eye, much
that before saa puzzled her suddenly be.
came clear, that which she had not been
able to understand all Mt oncc became as
an open book to her, clear rs the sun ut
%noontide; and when the realness of it all
fairly dnwned upon her, Julia Howard
crouched down into the big chair and
wtpt, poor girl, as If her heart would
break.
She had not moved when, more than an
hour afterwards, her husband came up
again.
They want to know if you will go for n
little drive this afternoon?" he began, then
when she raised her head he cried. "Ohi
my darling, what is it!"
She lifted herself up YEARLY. mo. tell
them I've got Il hcadachc-I want to rest
for the present."
"And may come back3" he asked.
"Yes. | want YOU
So presently he came upstairs again,
"Lock the door, she said, land come and
sit here on the sofa beside me. l have D
great deal to tell yor."
He did her bidding and sat down beside
her, putting his arm round her waist ms he
always did when they had confidential
talks together. Then he kissed her and
waited for her to go on.
81 told you," she began, in II dull voice
OF pain, that a new idea had suggested
itself to me. Well. l haye'been thinking,
thinking, thinking about it until | feel us
il my brain would burst. l must tell
you eve ything that has presented itself
to my mind aud | must go back to the first
time that you ever came to our house. If
you remember Mrs. I,ovelace came that
afternoon"
Yes, remember"
81 had occasion, or to be accurate, &C.
caston arose. TO mention her diamonds and
you asked me carelessly enough If she had
fine diamonds? told you'll remember 1t
perfectly-that she sometimes blazed like
a jewelers. shop. Well, not very long after
that we went to stay at Matcham and
whist we were there Lady Lucifer's Jew
els were Stolen-"
And my sister's,' he put in, quickly.
Yes" said Julia, significantly, land
yoW sisters. 1t was not long after that
that Mrs. Lovclace's diamonds We're OBJ.
tanned by a ~cleverly thought cut plan, so
cleverly thought out that If she had not
happened TO have been at the Maulever.
cr's during the whole OF that afternoon.
She would probably always have believed
that Alice Mauleverer had stolen them.
After that three other large ho uses in the
immediate n~eighDorhood were robbed, and
then this great robbery took place at Lit
lie Street Hail.
We'll" said Stephen, "you are telling
me Il great deal that I already know.
What do you make of all this?" With M
immense effort Julia braced herself up to
tell the rest.
II think, Stephen" she snid, sadly, "that
If you and the Markhams had remained
in Australia, it is very unlikely that these
particular robberies would have been con.
mittcd.'
He neither started nor let 20 his hold Of
her waist. ":My DEAR" he said, with per
feet calmness-''if anyone but yourself
had said this to me l should nave taken
it very differently. A woman I should
have invited to so to my lawyer, a IN
would have tlirashed within an inch of
his life. With you it is different-I am
sure it must pain you far more to say and
what is worse think all this, than it does
me to hear it. But have you thought out
seriously what it is that you accuse me
OFF, Literally OF being a thief and in con-
nection with Il gang Of thieves. Remem-
Der, juicy. my dear, it Is u dreadful
chalge-one which 1t is perhaps lucky for
you that you have made against your
husband WHO'S not likely to use it against
YOU"
Yes. have thought aboutit seriously
enough, Stephen-God knows she cried,
with sudden passion: "God knows,' she
repeated miserably. Thought about it,
why | have been thinking until my head
feels ready to burst"
My dearest child, your poor little burst.
ing head will be raging with dclirium if
you let these wild ideas take root in it,'
he said, tenderly. But now look Mt the
other side of the guestion-neither l nor
Bob aud his wife have ever been ut Little
Street Hall in our lives; so how do you
imagine we can have carried out this rob
bery2'
~ have thought of all that" she said,
wearily. Last year did not my mother
go there? Did not she go to stay with
Mamie Immediately after she returned
home to st. Eve's2 Well, she happened
to tell me not long after us a proof of
Mainie's Kindness of heard, that she had
been so interested in the old ladies aud in
her visit, aud how she had asked Just how
they lived aud what their house was like,
and all the rest of it. Oh, Stevie! Steviel''
she ended, wretchedly. II never thought
it would come to this"
My dearest child" he said, soothingly,
"as yet it has come to nothing at all. ]
assure you, you are worrying yourself
very unnecessarily about Il mere fancy.
OF course il you like to let your imaglna
tion run wild it is the simplest thing III
the world to build up II chain Of SUPPOSE
tious evidence out of fancy alone-I, fol
instance, might believe you to be II muir
deress, but that, you know, would moi
make you one"
"Can you deny it2" she burst out, Ut
last.
Certainly l camp ne answered.
"Do you deny its"
"9es-I do deny it. l can and viii
swear that | have all my life kept m.
hands from picking and stealing-all IN,
life."
''Then why she demanded, "why die
you make a plan of Oxford Place while VIZ
were staying there,"
"Of Oxford Place-Jucy!' he cried
What in Heavens name are you talking
abouti''
She beat her hand impatiently upon he
knee once or twice-then turned fully tt
him. "You remember II staying at Or
ford Placer"
"Of course l do?"
Then you may remember, too, that
went TO u bazaar with Lady Ceesprinj
and the others?n
Eyes"
And that you stayed behind-to write
letters?"
"Well2"
"Well, when l came home, I sat dow
on the arm OF your chair to talk TO yot
and l noticed that you Ind been making
n plan, as il you had been idly drawing ii
the b~lotting-book. asked you why yot
had been making n plan mud you pat III
off carelessly. Do you remember all tlis3'
NO. don't-but 60 on"
well, thought no more of 1t jus
then. but down stairs during tea, Msdg'
Oxford asked me for nu address, ana whel
went I'm IN 1rncc for 1ippor I ,--apt IN fin