Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-12-19
TlG Evil Genius.
A o EsTIC STORY.
wILKIE
BEFORE THE STORY.

erty to make her arrangements for the de
sertion Of poor little sgd.
The person on whose assistance she could
rely was an unmarried elder sister, distin
guished as prOprietress Of a cheap girls
school In one OF the suburbs Of London. This
~iaiy-knOwu Ia iucai fame az Miss Wigger-
had already proposed to take sgd into train
ing as a pupil teacher. "Ill force the chile
on Miss Wigger promised, It'll she car
earn her board and lodging by taking my
lowest class. When she gets older she will
replace my regular goyerness and / shall save
the salary"
With this proposal waiting for a reply Mrs
Westerfield had only to inform her sister that
1t was accepted. Come here" she wrote,
ION Friday next ut any time before two
o'clock and sgd shall be ready for you. L.
ST. am to be married again OH Thursday
and start for America with my husband and
my boy by next Saturdays steamer"
The letter was posted, and the mothers
anxious mind was, To use her own phrase, re-
lieved of another worry.
As the hour of 5 drew near on Wednesday
evening Mrs. Westerlield's anxiety forced
her 10 find relief in action of solne kind. She
opened the door OF her sitting-rooin. and list
ened on the stairs. 1t still wanted a few
minutes to y o'clock when there was "A ring
at the household. She ran down to open the
door. The servant happened to be i'm the
hall and answered the bell. The next mo-
ment the door was suddenly closed again.
Anybody there?" Mrs. Westeriield asked.
"No, ma'am."
This seemed strange. Had the old wretch
deceived her, after all? Look in the letter
box" she called out. The servant obeyel
and found "a letter. Mrs. Westerfield tore it
open, standing on the stairs. 1t contained
nail a sheet OF common note paper. The in
depreciation of the cipher was written On it
in these words:
Remember No. IL Purbeck road. ST.
Johns Wood. Go to the summer house in
the back garden. Count to the fourth plank
in the floor, reckoning from the side wall on
the night as you enter the summer house.
Prize up the plank. Look under the mold
and rubbish. Find the diamonds"
Not a word of explanation accompanied
these lines. Neither had the original cipher
been returned. The strange old man had
earned his money and had not attended to
receive it-had not even sent word where or
how it might be paid! Had he delivered his
letter himself? lie (Or his inesSenger) had
gone before the house door could be opened.
A sudden suspicion of him turned her cold.
Had he stolen the diamonds? She was on
the point OF sending for a cab, and driving to
his lodgings, when James came in. eager to
If the Interpretation had arrived.
Keeping her suspicious 10 herself, she
merely informed him that the Interpretation
was IN her hands. lie at once asked to see
1t. She refused To show it 10 him until he
had made her his wife. Put "A chisel in
your pocket when we 20 to church to-mor-
row morning. was the one hint she gave
him. AS thoroughly worthy of each other as
ever, the betrothed lovers distrusted each
other 10 the last.
At IL o'clock next morning they were
united in the bonds of wedlock: the land
lord and landlady of the public house in
which they had both served being the only
present. The children were not
permitted TO see the ceremony. On leaving
the church door the married pair began their
by driving to ST. Johns Wood.
A dirty printed notice, in a broken window,
that the house was 10 let; and a
woman informed them that
the. were free TO look at the rooms.
The bride was in the best Of humors. She
set the bridegroom the example of keeping
up appearances by examining the dilapidated
house first. This done, she said sweetly to
the person in charge: May We look at the
gardeng'
The woman made a strange answer TO this
-~oames Ifffet1r-fcr roi rrv ihrsv,nrfd -"~sS
curious?' he asked, roughly.
Among all the idle people who have come
here, at one time or another, to see this
the woman said, only two have
wanted to look at the garden"
James turned on his heel, and made for
the sulnmer-house; leaving his wife TO pur-
1ue the subject or not as she pleased. She
pursue the subject.
II am one Of the persons, OF course" she
said. "Who is the othery!'
"An old man came on Monday"
The brides pleasant smile vanished.
.'What sort of person was he?" she asked.
The sour-tempered woman became sourer
than ever. Ion, how can / tell? A brute.
"A brute?" The very words which the
new Mrs. Bellbridge had herself used when
the expert had irritated her. With serious
misgiyings, she too turned her steps in the
direction of the garden.
James had already followed her instruc-
tons and used his chisel. The plank lay
loose on the floor. With both his hands he
cleared away the mold and the rub
Dish. In a few minutes the hiding place was
laid bare.
They looked into it. They looked at each
other. There was the empty hole, telling its
W story. The diamonds were gone.
9.-1he Mother.
Mrs. Bellbridge eyed her husband, pre-
pared for a furious outbreak of rage. He
stood silent, staring stupidity straight before
him. The shock that had fallen on his dull
brain had stunned il. For the time he was
g big idiot; speechless, harmless, helpless.
She put back the rubbish, and replaced the
plank, and picked up the chisel. Come,
James" she said, pull yourself together
1t was useless to speak to him. She took his
and led him out to the cab that was
waiting at the door.
The driver, helping him to get in, noticed
a piece of paper lying on the front seat. Adj
vertisements, seeking publicity under a..
possible circumstances, are occasionally sent
flying into the open windows OF vehicles.
The driver was about to throw the paper
away, when Mrs. Bellbridge Seeing it on
the other side) took it out of his hand. 1T
isn't print she said; tits Writing" A
closer examination showed that the writing
was addressed to herself. Her correspol-
dent must have followed her To the church,
as well as to the house In 81. Johns Wood.
He distinguished her by the name which she
had changed that morning, under the sane
ton of the clergy and the law.
This is what she read: Don't trouble
yourself, madam. about the diamonds. You
have made a ~mistake-you have employed
the wrong man.
Those words-and no more. Enough,
surely, TO justify the conclusion that he had
stolen the diamonds. Was II worth while to
drive to his lodgings? They tried the expert
ment. The expert had gone away on BUSH
n~ess-nobody knew where.
The newspapers came rs usual on Friday
morning. To Mrs. Bellbridge's amazenlent
1t set the question OF the theft at rest, ON the
highest authority. An article appeared, In a
conspicuous position, thus expressed:
Another Of the many proofs that truth Is
stranger than fiction has just occurred at
Liverpool. A highly respected firm Of ship
owners IN that city received a strange letter
at the beginning Of the present week. Pre-
missing that he had some remarkable circum-
stances to communicate, the writer OF the let
Ter entered abruptly ON the narrative which
follows. A friend Of his connected with lit
erature had, it appeared, noticed a lady's
visiting-card left ON his desk, and had been
reminded by II Tin what way it was not