The Red Cloud chief., 1896-11-20
The Great Hesper.
BY FRANZ HARIiIrT.
CHAPTER lIl-CONrINuEp.
/ 81 L.. ~ \. DNs

"And Il Il liOcckg'
That's Israel" responded the
Judge. indicating Van llocck; "and
darkness fell upon en- he uddcd.
cxplanativcly.
During II short space of his event
ful career Brace had earned a pre-.
carious existence rs II travelling
preacher.
"Thon you are Bernard Thorne,"
the baronct said to me, ''and Lola
is
"The Kid" said Brace: ..hcr
mother was Il grcascr-a Mexican"
he explained tn Miss Luscclles.
The dinner had warmed his spirits
and looscncd his tongue, and he re.
lated the story Of the finding Of the
diamond.
zone thing is obvious" said Sir
Edmund chccrfully; 'vou won't
want to leave mo tonight"
"Nccry one on Us, sir. you bet"
replied tho Judge. while Van llocck
and expressed the same sentiments
in other words.
"Thc next thing to consider is"
he then said, chow al | he Of ser.
vice to you in this affair. To pur-
chase your treasure Is of course alto
gcthcr out Of the question. But
should like to buy n small-a very.
very small-sharc in it,, paying down
IA certain sum for your present con.
venicnce. and taking il back when
the diamond is ultimately disposed
of, with u reasonable percentage
upon the outlay. make this sug.
gestion as u matter Of business. that
you may feel yourselves free from
any restraint in accepting my offer"
Ii took us but a few moments to
agree to this proposal.
''1n that case he proceeded, IL
should wish to have n voice in the
management of this business, and the
first suggestion ! should make is,
that the finest artist in work OF this
kind be engaged to cut the diamond
under this roof, and that during the
operation you should take up your
residence here. This prccaution is
necessary for the safe keeping of the
treasure, and for our own common
security"
This arrangement "a too obvl-
ously advantageous to US to require
argument; we consulted together, and
quickly agreed to accept the condi-
ton.
Sir Edmund read the agreement
through again. and then said:
1--WE must consult Il lawyer with
regard to a legal form of agreement.
Here there is IL kind of tontine ar
rangement by which one would re-
ceive an enormous advantage by tho
death OF his partners. IL Is an un.
cJmfortab!e clause, and | do not see
the necessity for its existence, now
that the circumstances which called
for its being made aye changed. A
lawyer may provide fer our security
without exposing us to ugly possibili-
ties. Your rooms are ready; johnson
will show you to them if you feel you
would like to turn in"
The prospect Of sleeping once
more in a good bed brought us to
our feet at once.
Miss Lascelles, ~undauntcd by q
first rebuff, had got Lola's hand in
hers, and was talking in u low, en-
dearing tone to her. Tho Kid
snatched her hand away. started TO
her feet, and came to my side, see
ing we were about to go.
In the morning her room was found
empty, the bed untouched. the floor
covered with shreds OF the clothing
Miss Lascelles had lain out for Lola's
use, and which, undoubtedly, the
little savage had torn up.
Poor little Lola. She and | had
always been the best of friends, ex-
cept whcn a question OF cooking or
washing occurred to trouble us. She
would yield to my persuasion when
nothing else would bend her stub
born spirits. She feared my silent
reproach more than the scathing
sarcasm Van Hoeck treated her
with, or the heavy hand OF her
father. She respected no one but
me, probably because | alone re-
spected her feelings.
Had ! foreseen that night the
sourse she was about to take, might,
with a little patient persuasion.
have brought her to reason. My
spirit is weighed down with regret
when ! think how perhaps a dozen
words from me at that time would
have turned aside the fearful conse-
quences Of that act-an 9ct 50 slight