The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-05-04

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The diamonds were gone. What fol-
lowed? you ask. Why, the wife
wouldn't accuse her husband, and the
husband wouldn't accuse his wife, 80
naturally they agreed in accusing the
young secretary with the result that
he WAS tried and convicted and rail
roaded into prison, atlspecial limited
speed.
"Such, then, was the case that poor
Miss Leighton, distracted by the fate
Of her lover and confident in his in
nocenoe, had brought TO our Office.
"I'll warrant you can call the turn,
Colonel, on the first questions asked
Miss Leighton. You think they were
about her mistress? Yes, that's right;
OF course ! went into whether the lady
had Any feelings tender or otherwise
for this young fellow in her house
hold There was nothing IN il. Mrs.
Marchinont had always been civil TO
the young man, but indifferent; and
Indifference, Colonel, knocks out any
idea OF either love or hate. not only
exhausted this entire field with my
questions, but also subsequently with
my outside Investigations, until ! was
satisfied that the lady was wholly un-
knowing OF the fate OF her diamonds
and sincere in her belief in the secre-
tary's guilt; and in these conclusions
i was right.
What, then, remained? Why, the
old man,next. Colonel, you must have
known him, at least by heGrsay.
Marchmont, the multimillionaire, TO
whom the loss OF fifty thousand ought
TO be mere a-bite, but who would
feel worse about il than IL he was stuck
fast 90 bee hive; old Marchmont, the
meanest but the squarest man on the
street, whose word is AZ good as his
| bond and much better, for that mat
ter, because he never went on one in
his life; old Marchmont, the shrewd-
est, cunningest file in the hull hard
ware shop, who never speculates, but
who, having made his pile, knows how
TO keep il. Why, the idea that he
had worked any hypothecating game
with them diamonds was ridiculousl
Again, / landed plumb against stun
wall and again / was right in getting
| there.
what else was there2 Why,
finally, the servants. Lord, Colonel,
there wasn't too much Miss Leighton
could say good of them. A lot of old
TRUSTEES, that you read about and
seldom see, devoted TO their masters
interests, and each one with a saw
| -. I
this out I didn't go any further, for
the crooked, Colonel, don't cotton TO
savings bank for cent. They're
looking for large profits in order to
make quick returns OF what they took !;
leastwise that's what they always say,
though in my experience restitution
is generally put off till the last mo-
mept 1t was with n heavy heart that
i bid Miss Leighton good-by for day
or two, though put on brash front ;
for / liked her style and her pluck,
and most Of oil liked her loyalty, as
men like things they may have
dreamed about when they were boys,
but have never seen before.
"As / passed through the corridor,
the manager called me into his Office.
We'll, what did you make out of it?'
said he. Nothing said |. OF
course not, said he; Il looked into it
myself, out of pity, you know, and
then | called you in, because she was
so obstinate that she said she would
go with II to 40 aud son naming rivals
of ours-'which / didn't want. Just
sleep over il for while, Cronkite,
you're good at that; and before you
know it she'll meet some one else she
likes, and then good-by to Proctor
and his case
81 didn't answer, Colonel, being
hotter than before under the collar,
bu; slouched away in a manner which
no doubt strengthened Mr.. Redclifle's
contempt for me. Perhaps there is
where he made mistake. too; for
when mans pride is hurt and his
better feelings aroused, then's when
his thinking machine is going to do
double.quick work. The more | con
sidered such treatment of client, an
old employe, and house that had
been an honorable exception in n pro-
fesh with n full supply of crooked
ness, the hotter got and il was my
mad, Colonel, not my deliberate judg-
ment, that turned my thoughts in n
new direction, n direction which led
to the truth.
"The next evening. Colonel, Ispent
going over the record with young
Proctor's lawyer. There wasn't much
to it; the prosecution had made ont n
primn facie case, by virtue of the sus-
piciuus circumstances | mentioned,
aud all there was to offset il was the
defendants bare denial, bold aud can.
| did. Old Marchmop. volunteered the
statement that the safe was a peculiar
English invention, designed ex-
clusively for the protection of valua-
! bles within small space. Then,
later on, when asked 10y the defend
ants attorney, more TO use up time
than for any other purpose, whether
the lock ever got out Of order, he an
swered that it had worked all right
before the burglary, but that the very
next day after, he had TO send for. a
man TO come aud repair il, the tum-
bers being displaced by the violence
with which he had slammed the door,
in his rage over the discovery Of his
loss.
"All night long, Colonel. my mind
was filled with wild ideas about that
safe. and the next morning the first
thing l did was TO walk 10y the snowy
Offices that the English inventor had