The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-12-07
Traced Through a Paper
hIITHITWORTH, may I borrow
By John J. Armstrong.

hATHITWORTH, may l borrow
w this?" queried Sherman, pick
ing up the current number of certain
popular weekly journal from my lit
tered table.
with pleasure" l returned. readily.
81 commend you on your discrimina-
ton. For enjoyably passing away
leisure space, the paper you have Sc
cured is all that could be wished.
You'll return it, won't you?"
Certainly" he replied; and for
moment there was silence between us,
the while l regarded him wonderingly.
Concerning that little matter be-
tween u.s. he drawled, with his nasal
Yankee twang-and | couldn't help
but notice the supercilious curl on his
thin lips-"it's thoroughly understood
eh? The lady to the man who can win
her?"
MY answer vas an acquiescent in
clination of the head.
"Ah, WELL" he went on, sneeringly,
81 guess you'll survive the disappoint-
ment, sonny. I'm off to see her now"
l laughed provokingly. for though
the betrothal ring had not been OBJ
tanned by me, May and myself, i'm
aeined, thoroughly understood each
other.
Sherman turned at the door, an ugly
scowl on his swarthy face, and request
ed to know the cause of my hilarity:
but. with an expressive shrug. | signi-
fed that explanation was unnecessary.
Crushing the paper savagely in his
hand. he departed. We were fellow
curators. Abe Sherman and !, in the
B art gallery, and our duty consist
cd In safeguarding the various treas
ures which were daily exhibited to the
public.
At the time I tell of we curators were
smarting under sense of stigma for,
despite all precaution, about three
weeks previously some costly speci-
mems of uncut gems belonging to the
permanent collection had unaccount-
ably disappeared from their case. The
affair savored of the miraculous. for
though the stones had vanished. the
case had been left absolutely intact.
Stung with the taunts of negligence.
all had protested that their vigilance
had never been relaxed and that the
theft could not possibly have been COM
mitted in their respective duties.
After the stir had quieted some
what. and the vitupsrative energy of
the local newspaper correspondents
had been duly worked off, the affair
looked like being relegated to the long
list of unsolvable mysteries. But the
stigma was not so readily effaceable,
and. as for myself, confess it certainly
rankled, filing me with determina-
ton to keep myself fully alive in the
future. Sherman was the latest aHdi-
ton to the guardian staff. From the
very first day he had entered the gal
lery-two months previously-he had
performed his duties in an exemplary
manner that left no room for complaint.
His credentials from the other side had
been exceptional and the chief was con-
vinced of his integrity.
Not so myself. however, for. some
days after the robbery, | had been
somewhat astonished. when we had
been on duty together, to observe what
seemed to me like prearranged signal
pass between him and a suspicious
looking visitor whom | had been keep
ing under close observation. Probably
: ii signifed nothing. ! was mistrustful,
for was he not my rival? And yet
The very morning after the conver-
Saton between MS set forth at the COM
= mencement of this relation, however.
the whole place was thrown into con-
sternation by the startling announce
ment made by Jukes, the guardian on
duty, that the Rajah's sword-hilt had
disappeared during the night.
This curio-a costly specimen of in
crusted jewel work-had been spirited