Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-04-22

| worth thousands.
"As soon as Pelham got home he and
his sister had in his clerk-a discharged
prisoner, gentleman who had been
sent out for being in some Irish rising
of sorts-and showed him the string,
asking him at the same time to try
and find where the donor had gone to-,
so that he might be informed of the
value Of his discovery. Then he went
off to bed, leaving the pearls in dis.
patch box on the table, and forgetting
to lock it, in his usual absent way.
| In the night a tremendous storm came
| down, and swept through the house in
hurricane, carrying everything into
the verandas. The clerk Connolly
came rushing in, shut the windows and
doors, and picked up the scattered
books and papers, assisted by the but
| ler, another time-eXpired man. The
dispatch box was found lying on the
| floor, Its contents blown away and the
pearls gone. Pelham insisted that
they must be somewhere near and
made the men spend the rest of the
night searching with him through the
room, but with no result. Both men
were naturally rather frightened there
had been a number of small robberles,
and the Governor a rigid old martinez,
was determined to put crime down
with heavy hand.
"He was very fond of the cat. THE
cat he used to declare, is worth a
regiment in keeping order in n half
itt,1 tbi, n
was opposed to it with all his might,
and the two were constantly at log
gerheads. The Governor got wind Of
the disappearance of the necklace, and
instantly sent guard and shut up
both Pelham's men in Boggo saying
he would give them five dozen apiece
unless they owned up to the pearls.
Connolly was delicate little chap
and he almost died at the thought of it.
The other chap confessed on the spot;
said he had been standing at the door
and seen Connolly take out the string
and put it in his pocket, a statement
which the Judge declared was a lie,
and one encouraged by the Governors
use of such a brutal form of punish
ment. He didn't blame the butler, but
he stuck to it. Connolly couldn't have
taken the pearls or he would have seen
him. Meantime, there was row royal
between the law and the administra-
ton, and the pearls kept out of sight.
Miss Pelham went to the Governor
and begged him to give Connolly a
weeks respite before he was brought
up for sentence. And in that time
she fairly turned the yellow stone
house inside out, and still no sign Of
the necklace. She was sitting on the
veranda one night with the Judge, talk
ing and wondering.
81 cannot imagine, said she, where
they can have got to-
ed give Il hundred pounds to
know replied Pelham, gloomily; poor
little Connolly won't last three months
if he goes back to the quarries'
"I've looked everywhere said Miss
Pelham. and she looked up at the gular.
He was sitting demurely on his stand,
and winking his red-rimmed eyes as
if he knew all about it.
"Ho! hol hor he chuckled; look un-
der the table,
"She sat looking up at him in amaze.
ment, while he kept repeating, Look
under the table,
"She got up. 4 will she said; 'ev.
cry table in the house,
"Now. she had removed everything
out of the dining room where the dis
patch box had been left, and the car
pets had been taken uD. The floor had
| been laid with very green wood. and
when the covering was removed the
boards were found TO have shrunk.
It was sunset. and the light came in
level with the house, which. like most
houses, was raised little on piles to
keep out the white ants. She walked
| across. looking down. and suddenly she
cried out and the Judge rushed to her
side. Look" she easped. pointing
aud Ioo,,od opd +boro bo+weon tbo
cracks they could see the string of