The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-09-25


roseness, and in the evening she rose
from the piano suddenly, as though on
impulse.
by the way" she said, have you the
key of the strong-room, Dick? / meant
to ask you before and forgot. / should
80 much like to see the family jewels.
Your uncle told me that he has some
wonderful rubies which he brought
from India. Bring them down, there's
a dear boy!
Inc dear boy brought them down
with the best grace in the world. Mrs.
Fairholme admired the jewels and
played with them like child with a
new toy. But the rubies seemed espe- >
cially to captivate her fancy.
"They are magnificent she said, and
her eyes were almost as bright with ex-
element as the gems themselves. II
never saw anything like them. And
the diamonds are fine, too. But those
old-fashioned settings are horrible.
shall have them all reset at once. Do
you know the address of a good Jew
eler?"
"Linklater of Bond street, is one Of
the best, believe. But If you will ex-
cuse my saying so, don't you think the
matter will keep till the colonels re-
turn? I'm not sure that he would care
to have them altered"
ooh, he won't object If 1t is my WISH"
she said sweetly. IT am going into the
town early tomorrow. I shall wire
myself to Linklater's to send one Of
their people to fetch them"
He quietly ran up to London in the
morning and paid visit to Mr.. Link
later, to whom he explained the circum-
stances and then requested that the
stones should not be unset until they
heard from the colonel himself.
"But my dear sir" the jeweler said,
"I know nothing of these jewels. No
such telegram as you mentioned has
been received by u.s."
The September afternoon was waning
when he got back to Broadwater, and
Mrs. Fairholme, superb in velvet din
ner gown, swept across the hall to meet
him.
"You tiresome fellow" she said play
fully, where have you been all day?
The man from Linklater's has been here
since three o'clock waiting for you to
come home with the strong-room keys"
ooh, of course, forgot. He has
come for the jewels, hasn't he? I'll
fetch them"
But when he reappeared his hands
were still EN- ty.
"I'm awfu y sorry, Mrs. Fairholme,"
he said coolly, "but I've mislaid my
keys, hope haven't dropped them out
of DOORS"
81 don't think it will be much use
searching for Them" she replied, with
an unpleasant laugh. 'I shall have a
locksmith down from London the first
thing in the morning. And the jew
eler's man shall wait"
Dick wrote out a telegram and gave it
to a groom with sovereign.
"Send it off at once, Rogers, and
keep still tongue in your head"
The message ran as follows:
ITO Colonel Fairholme, on board the
Australia mail steamer Oratava at Ma
pies:
Return overland. Imperative bust
ness. Do not fail. Dick"
If the colonel obeyed, he would be at
home in three days-that is to say, four
days before he would have arrived I'M
der ordinary circumstances-fou days
before he was expected by Mrs. Fair
holme.
When the locksmith arrived, Dick
had little private conversation with
him, and a bank note changed hands.
AS result, the man told Mrs. Fairholme
that the job was long one, and that
under three days.
The mysterious man who was not
from Bond street, went away, and on
the third afternoon returned, but the
strong-room door was not yet opened.
The workman was awaiting instruc-
tons.
About five o'clock there was rattle
of wheels in the avenue, and somebody
rang the door bell The next moment
the colonel, in travelling cap and ulster,
stepped into the lamplight. Mrs. Fair
holme shrieked and sprang to her feet,
overturning the bamboo table with
crash.
Colonel Fairholme" she gasped Wild
ly. Home alreadyv'
MRS. Bellarmine! Bless me, what a
thing! Why, I thought I
had left you in Melbourne"
"Then she's not your wife?" ex-
claimed Dick, aghast.
"My wifep' cried his uncle, perplexed
to irritability. "You know very we'll
have no wife, sir! met this lady and
her husband in Melbourne, and they
very kindly nursed me through my bouA
of Influenza. I told you SO in my let
ters."
OF course the man from Linklater's"
was her husband, and the pair of ad-
venturers, knowing the colonel's plans,
had taken advantage of his illness to in
tercept his letters, forge substitutes to
serve their own ends and mako this