Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-02-04
CHAPTER VII
THE MYSTERY OF THE COLLAR OF OLA.
MOSpS,

which was an obvious attempt to make
them smile. do not wish to decide
whether such view of the matter is
justified by the facts, but l will ven-
ture to assert upon my own observa-
ton that IL the fates care Mt all for a
jest they prefer Il man like old Sam
Kelvin for the subject of it. Already
he had figured once in this role, and it
was not enough.
Kelvin is Il pawn in the game who
fancies himself the player. He is such
a man as is fond of saying: 'If were
poor tomorrow, / should be rich again
in n year. You cannot keep good
man down." Or this, IF you ask me
for the secret of my success in the
world" etc, when you haven't asked
him and have no interest in the process
by which an unsuccessful man became
IL successful hog. am convinced that
the fates do relish an occasional prank
with such man, and the affair of the
collar OF diamonds which am about
TO lay before the reader is case in
point.
1t was in the middle of July, nearly
a month after the advent of the KEEL
wins in Tunbriage. Upon an especially
beautiful morning ! was taking my
usual walk before breakfast and had
gone up to the cemetery on the hill.
There. from the grave of my wife, that
is covered with flowers ut this season,
arise both my SORROW and the strength
~ bear ii. | am not Il Somber man.
always come away from that spot with
TIE drumbeat of courage and of striv-
ing in my heart, after the excellent
military custom.
My way home led me past the Slough
ton place, now called "Kelvin Elms."
Those fine old elms We're quite well
grown, l judge, when Kelvin's grand
father was building a sawmill in Penn
sylvania. He was a carpenter and
built the mill for another man and then
got 1t away from him by some sort of
hocus pocus. looked the matter up
out Of curiosity. Sam Kelvin's father
inherited the sawmill, but not the ca
pacity for hocus pocus. The latter
skipped 4 generation, so the sawmill
passed out of the family with other ill
gotten goods, and the present propri-
etor of The Films was born poor.
His first success was rather shady
transaction in coal lands, and after
ward he associated himself with pow
erful men and rose with them.
The present Mrs. Kelvin comes of
good family, but is herself n sharp,
shrewd, selfish woman. She has little
beauty of character or person, and her
husband has none, but from that union
has sprung us fair and loyable girl
ms ever gladdened the eyes and the
heart of man. Nature performs these
miracles once in awhile. In the GEM
etery where l had just been walking
the very sweetest rosebush grows from
the dust of the sourest rascal ever laid
away to rest there. refer to Ezra
Walmsley. the miser, and l shall have
occasion TO speak of him later, for the
claim that he made to the Stoughton
estate during his life is an essential
feature of the present narrative. There
he lies, at any rate, and there is the
Sosebush to prove that his dust is as
bod as any mans for rose culture, and
.his despite the well founded legend
that he sold his right hand to Satan
and paid the forfeit.
While skirting the east wall of The
Elms | caught Il glimpse of Donald
near the south gate. 1t was no sur
prise to see him abroad at such an
hour, for Donald is an early riser.
hnt 1,nl,i rIhn lnn1.c host
in the morning, and early rising argues
appreciation. Moreover, it shows cour-
age and healthy view. l have heard
r n cynic claim to prove that life is not
worth living by the fact that n vast
majority of all humanity put off living
as long as they can every morning,
lying abed to the last minute and coax
image of DEATH" If the cynic had
possessed logical mind and had lin.
tied his conclusion to the scope of his
evidence, would have been willing to
agree with him in the proposition
which he really had established-name
ly, that the life of the sluggard Is not
worth living. That sort of person new.
er wants to get up and begin the day.
Donald is no sluggard. He often
Joins me in my morning walks, but he
has not shown fondness for the vi.
cinity of The Elms, and was sur
prised to see him lettering by Kelvin's
gate. When l turned the corner Of
the wall, saw that Donald was talk
ing with Amy Kelvin, and this was an
explanation of his presence which was
harder to credit than the original phe.
nomenon, unexplained, as often hap.
pens.
l was not prepared to believe that
they had met there by accident, still
less that they had met there by design,
but it must have been one or the other,
for there they were. Little Miss Kel.
vim was sitting on a rock about the
size of bushel basket, and her back
was supported by the wall. Donald
leaned against tall stone pillar OF
the gate and looked down into the
girls face. Their manner indicated
that they were busily blowing the soap
bubbles of youthful sentiment, fragile
beautiful, floating away on the air
not meant to be handled like the toys
of later years nor even to be remem.
bered except In the aggregate.
Neither of these enviable young crea
lures was SO placed as to be readily
visible from the house, and yet ]
would not wish to say that their posi-
tons We're taken with the definite idea
OF avoiding observation. 1t was Ger
tain however, that both of them knew
well enough what Mr. Kelvin would
think of their meeting.
1 was quite near them before they
noticed me. Then Donald looked ul
and saw me, but he showed no sur
prise Indeed, surprise was the rarest
of his emotions He gave me cheer
good morning, and Amy greeted m
very prettily. She has something Q
the old fashioned shyness and a defer
ence toward her elders such as
not see too much Of nowadays. Th
L