The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-12-09

C6IeIully anu ue4G0rOuSly. .6OIQcIcu 10
gether. Sir Matthew having felt ip his
pocket, produced a large penknife ana
opened strong blade. He held out the
knife toward my father. blade foremost
such was his agitation
"Thank you, Sir Matthew, said my
father in courteous and calm volce
reaching round the blade and grasplng
the handle
Absolute silence now fell on the com
pany. My father was perfectly compos
ed. He forced the point of the knife i'll
to the surface Of the object and made a
gap. Then he peeled off the surface Of
tin. I felt Sylvia's eyes turn to mine,
but did not remove my gaze from my
fathers plate. Five times did my father
repeat his operation, placing what was
left in each case on the tablecloth i'll
front of him. When he had finished his
task, he looked up at Sir Matthew Sir
Matthew's face bore look of mingled
bewilderment and triumph. He opened
his mouth o speak. A gesture of my
fathers hand imposed silence on him
cit remains" said my father. "to
examine the seventh object.
The seventh object was treated as it's
companions had been. The result was
different. From the shelter of the sealed
tin covering came small roll Of paper
My father unfolded it. Faded lines of
writing appeared on it,
"Uncle Johns hand, said my father
solemnly. II propose to read what he
says
"Aren't they beautiful?' whispered
Sylvia longingly
A glance from my father rebu.led
her He began to read what Colonel
Merridew had written. Here tits:
That old fool Marston having made the life
of everybody OH board the ship a burden to
them Oh account of his miserable rubies and
having logged my footsteps and spied upon
my actions in most offensive manner. dc
termined to give him lesson, SO 4 took these
stones from his cabin and carried them to my
house. was about to return them when he
found his way into my house and accused me
me, Colonel John Merridew-of being a thief.
What followed is known to my family The
result of Sir Georges Incorporate behavior
was to make it impossible for me to return the
rubes without giving rise to an impression
most injurious to my honor have therefore
placed them in this bottle They will not be
Sir George. When they are discovered re-
quest that they may be returned to his son
with my compliments and an expression of my
hope that he is not such fool as his father.
4 JOHN MERRIDEw. Colonel
Continued silence followed the read
ing of this document. The Indianapolis
rubies glittered and cleaned ON the ta-
blecloth. My father looked up at Uncle
John S picture. To my excited fancy
the old gentleman seemed to smile more
broadly than before. My father gather
ed the rubies into his hand and held
them out to Sir Matthew
"You have heard Colonel Merridew's
message, sir, said my father There
is. l presume, no need for me to repeat
/ it. Allow me to hand you the rubies "
| Sir Matthew bowed stiffly. took the
maharajah's rubies, counted them care
fully and dropped them, one by one
! into his waistcoat pocket.
"Take away that bottle of port. - said
my father. 1.-The tin will have ruined
the flavor"
"What shall dowith 1t. sir?" asked
Dawson.
Whatever you please, F" said my ia
Their, and, looking up again at Uncle
Johns picture, he exclaimed in an adj
miring tone: AN uncommon man in
deed How few would have contrived
SO perfect hiding placer
"Sylvia," said Sir Matthew, "get
your cloak. Then he turned to my fa-
Their and continued. eff. sir. to be an
expert thief
My father sprang to his feet. Sylvia
caught Sir Matthew by the arm. l was
ready to throw myself between the en-
ragged gentlemen. Uncle John smiled
broadly down on us. The vicar looked
up with mild smile. He had taken
nut and was in the act of cracking it,
Dear, dear" said he. whats tn,
NATTER"
"Sir Matthew Marston. said my ia
ther, ventures to accuse the late Colo
mel Merridew of theft. and that in the
house which was Colonel Merridew's. ;"
"Mr. Merridew, - said Sir Matthew
in cold, sarcastic voice, "must admit
that any other explanation of the colo
nei's action is-well, difficult, and that
in any house, whether Colonel Merri-
dew's or another's''
"My dear friends expostulated the
vicar, 'pray have reason. The presence
of these-er-articles in this bottle Of
port, taken in conjunction with the ex-
PLANTATION afforded by the late Colonel
Merridew's letter, makes the whole
matter perfectly clear. +" The vicar
paused, swallowed his nut and then
continued with considerable and proper
pride In fact. although there is no
reason whatsoever to think that Colonel
Merridew stole the maharajah rubies,
yet any gentleman may well suppose
and has every reason for supposing that
Colonel Merridew did steal the mahara
jah s rubies.
Sir Matthew tugged at his beard; my
father rubbed the side Of his nose with
!. his forefnger The vicar rose and stood
between them with his hands spread out
and smile of candid appeal on his face
There is no reason at all to suppose
IJncia .IOt1n meant tn Staa1 tnarn - oh.