The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-12-09

| siuc outsiue the SHOWCASE, auu the
| traveller had made an accidental ex-
change. 1t was little surprising, but
il excited no suspicion. The jeweler
sent a special messenger down to Brix-
ton with "A note eofexplanation, and the
special messenger came back to say
that the gentleman had gone to Bir-
mingham. A telegram was sent to
Birmingham, and the jeweler went to
his home in the suburbs quite content
ed and at ease. When a servant had
been faithful for IL years in big things
and little, when he had had hundreds
and hundreds of thousands OF pounds
through his hands, and had never once
been out in his accounts by f.rthing,
an honest man is not likely to grow
mistrust from so small seed As this.
But when no answer came from Bir-
mingham-when telegraphic inquiry
elected the fact that the traveller had
not been TO his customary hotel-when
further inquiry proved that he had not
been heard of at Manchester, Liver
pool, Edinburgh, Glasgow-when, af
ter four or five days, his wife, for the
first time since her marriage, was ig-
norant or his whereabouts-then things
began TO grow uncomfortable, and sus-
picion began TO peer. Not at all in the
direction OF the dapper little Jewish
gentleman. He was above suspicion,
as the wife of Caesar should have been.
Seventeen years of unstained fidelity
were not to be rewarded so. But it be-
came clear that some mischief had be-
fallen him-there are hundreds of peo-
pie in the world who W ould do murder
for the fiftieth part of such booty as
he carried. His employer went mourn
fully to the police and offered reward
for the missing mans discovery. He
was angry at the mere idea that one
whom he had trusted so entirely, and
whose faithfulness had stood the test
50 long, had at last deceived and rob-
bed him. The honest heart would
have no commerce with that fancy.
No. The poor fellow had fallen i'll,
had tumbled into some alteration Of
the mind, of which the changing of the
trays was the earliest sign, had been
robbed, drugged, spirited away, MUIR
dered.
The police accepted this view of the
case with courteous incredulity, and
planned and labored on their own lines.
They networked the country through
the telegraph; they woke up every port
in Great Britain, and had every passen-
ger list examined; they haunted way
side stations, and sIiadowed the great
termini; they sent the news tingling
to every country in Europe and 20 the
United States. Every pawnbroker in
Great Britain, every mont de piete i'll
France, every dealer in precious stones
and precious metals everywhere had
warning.
Then, as his own lucky star ordained,
the sergeant was sent to London on
professional affairs. He called at Scot
land Yard to pay visit of respect to an
old provincial superior of his own;
partly because little civility is never
wasted-"as you know Mr.. Murray
partly because he liked the gentleman
in question, and partly because ''eut OF
sight is out of mind with many peo-
ple." The late provincial superior was
affable to the extent of glass Of
whisky and a cigar; and, at their part
ing, he confided to the sergeant's charge
packet of handbills, which set forth
a portrait of the missing gentleman,
full description Of his person, and an
inventory of the lost jewels. The ser
geant kept one of these for his own
private reading, packed the rest in his
handbag, and having finished his bus
iness by noon on the day following,
strolled down to Euston station in time
for the two o'clock train.
On the way he encountered an old
friend, with whom he had glass of
whisky. At the station he encounter
ed another old friend-one of the de-
tectives on constant duty there-and |
with him he had another glass of |
whisky. The day was warm and |
heavy, the sergeant had been seeing |
"life" in the capital at the expense OF
his nightly rest, and ensconcing him
self in one corner of a secOnd-class |
smoking compartment, five minutes
before the trains departure, he fell |
asleep. At Chalk Farm he was dimly |
aware that somebody got in the car
riage, and then he slept again. He
was halfway to Rugby before he
awoke. His fellOw-passenger was seat
ed in the opposite corner at the far-end
of the compartment, and the sergeant |
surveyed him uninterestedly through
scarce-opened eyelids. II was Jewish
gentleman of a neat and dapper aspect,
with coal-black hair, eyebrows, and
mustache, and cheeks and chin clean
shaven. He smoked cigar, and read
a railway novel, but every now and
then he seemed To awake to sudden
interest i'm a hat-box which was be-
slowed in the light-luggage netting
over head, and at such moments he
would screw himself round and look
upward, as if he feared to find it spirit
ed away.
"Now," said the sergeant in telling
me the story, ''its curious thing, but
this is what set me a-thinking. When
| was kid, and right on TO when left
home, my old mother never let me get
to bed without reading chapter out
of the Bible at me. l never got a lot o.
good out of il, As far as remember, but
| never got no harm anyway. | hadn't
thought of the words for the best part
of ID years, bat when that chap had
looked at that hat-box maybe dozen
times, they came into my head as plain
as if person he'd spoken 'em in my
ear. Where the treasure is, there will
the heart be also And what have
you got there, my friend?' Isay to my
self, Il wonder'" By-and-by the ser
geant had something else to wonder at.
The Jewish gentleman drew off = we'll
fitting glove of tan-colored dogskin,
and began to finger his cheeks and chin
with very delicate carefulness- His
a L.. a