The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-01-09

walked off with the real thing To an
unlear:ied eye the mimic jewels were ex-
actly like the real, but an expert was not
to be deceived for an instant. The two
trays had been set for comparison side by
side outside the showcase, and the traveller
had made an accidental exchange. 1t was
little surprising, but it excited no sus
picion The jeweler sent special mes
senger down to Brixton with a note of ex-
plation, and the special messenger came
back to say that the gentleman had gone
to Birmingham A telegram was sent to
birmingham, and the jeweler vent to his
home in the suburbs quite contented and
at ease. When servant had been faith
ful for II 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 ac-
counts by farthing, an honest man is not
likely to grow mistrust from SO small a
seed as this But when no answer came
from Birmingham-when telegraph 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, Liverpool, Edinburgh,
Glasgow when, after four or five days,
his wife, for the first time since her mar
riage, was ignorant of his Whereabouts
then things began to grow uncomfortable,
and suspicion began to peer Not at all
in the direction of the dapper little Jewish
/ Al l.
the wife of Caesar should have been.
Seventeen years of unstained fidelity were
not to be rewarded so. But it became
clear that some mischief had befallen
him-there are hundreds of people in the
world who would do murder for the fiftieth
part of such booty as he carried. His
employer went mournfully to the police
and offered reward for the missing man
discovery He was angry at the mere
idea that one whom he had trusted SO en-
tirely, and whose faithfulness had stood
the test so long had at last deceived and
robbed him. The honest heart would
have no commerce with that fancy. No !
The poor fellow had fallen i'll, had turnbled
into some alteration of the mind of which
the changing of the trays was the earliest
sign, had been robbed, drugged. spirited
away, murdered.
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 tele
graph; they woke up every port in Great
Britain. and had every passenger list ex-
amined; they haunted wayside stations and
shadowed the great termini; they sent the
news tingIing to every country in Europe
and to the United States. Every pawn
broker in Great Britain, every mont de
piete in 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 pro-
fessional affairs He called at Scotland
Yard to pay visit of respect to an old
provincial superior of his own; partly be-
cause little civility is never wasted-''a 'as
you know. Mr.. Murray partly because
he liked the gentleman in question, and
partly because ''out of sight is out of mind
with many people. The late provincial
superior was affable to the extent of glass
of whiskey and cigar; and, at their part
ing, he confded to the sergeant charge a
packet of handbills, which set forth por-
trait of the missing gentleman, full de-
scription of his person, and an inventory of
the lost jewels. The sergeant kept one of
these for his own private reading, packed
the rest in his handbag, and having fin
ished his business by noon ON the day fol-
lowing, 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 whis-
key. At the station he encountered an
other old friend-one of the detectives on
constant duty there-aud with him he had
another glass of whiskey. The day was
warm and heavy, the sergeant had been
seeing life in the capital at the expense
of his nightly rest, and ensconcing himself
in one corner of second-class smoking
compartment, five minutes before the
train departure, he fell asleep. At Chalk
Farm he was dimly aware that somebody
got into the carriage, and then he slept
again He was half way to Rugby before
he awoke His fellow passenger was
seated in the opposite corner at the far end
of the compartment, and the sergeant sur
veyed him uninterestedly through scarce
opened eyelids. 1t was Jewish gentle
man of a neat and dapper aspect, with
coal black hair, eyebrows, and mustache,
and cheeks and chin clean shaven. He
smoked a cigar and read railway novel,
but every now and then he seemed tC
awake to a sudden interest in hat box
which was bestowed in the light-luggagt
netting overhead, and at such moments he
would screw himself round and look up
ward, as if he feared to find it spirited
away.
Now said the sergeant, in telling
me the story, ''its curious thing, bu
this is what set me a-thinking. When
was kid, and nigh on to when | lef
home, my old mother never let me get t.
bed without reading a chapter out of th'
Bible to me- never got lot of goo(
out of it, as far as | remember, but neve
got no harm anyway. | hadn't though
of the words for the best part of 10 years
but when that chap had looked at that ha
box maybe dozen times, they came int
my head as plain as if person had spokel
'em in my ear, Where the treasure is
there will the heart be also. And 'wha
have you got there, my friend ? say Il
myself, L wonder. y By-and-by th'
sergeant had something else to wonder at
3 The Jewish gentleman drew off a well
ting glove of tan colored dogskin, and begal
+ to finger his cheeks and chin with yer.
+ delicate carefulness His face took a cas-
5 of anxiety, and he drew from his breas
+ pocket small morocco case which con
! tanned comb and mirror. He combe
! his mustache, and scrutinized it with ex
| traordinary care He combed the hair o
his forehead and temples, and scrutlnlze
p that with extraordinary care. Then h
combed his thick black eyebrows, an
peered at them into the mirror as closel
/ as if he had been examining them through
a microscope Next he examined his chi
minutely and seemed dissatisfied. Ono