Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-05-23

ll1IIls
Thereby thangs q tale"
Tell it,"
eff do. yosu will possess secret of
which my husband Isl ignorant"
GIVE me YOUR confidence"
Il have kept the horrid thing so long
that it will be a relief to tell you. 1
must go back fifteen years TO Il time
when was twenty. Then 1 got into
terrible troubke. For what? Wo-
mans propensity! flbr leaving valuables
about where theys may be appropriate
ed. was visitingfat the country house
of my husband siparents. l was IA
vorite with las mother. and Henry
found no difficulty in inducing her to
invite me down. He had not yet pro-
posed to me, 'lRIt knew that he would
soon do SO.
I'VE were n merry party. 1t was mid
summer, and our time was passed in
summer sports-reading. driving, boat
ing. croquet, lawn tennis. One even
ing before dinner l stepped into the
bathroom to wash my hands, and there
on the marble slab was a diamond
ring. l recognized it at once as the
property of Lucy Crane, girl about
my age, who had doubtless taken it
off to wash her hands and forgotten
it. What a joke it, would be to appro-
pirate it, let Lucy think that ii was
lost, then produce lit l slipped 1t on
my finger, went toimy room, put it in
my pOrtemonnaie and, leaving the
portemonnaie on the .mantel, went
down TO dinner.
I'VE had finished the dessert and
were slipping our coffee when there
was q noise without and'we all went
on the piazza in time to see the but
Ter and the coaclEman chasing Il man,
who was running like a stag. He STUN
bled and fell, and in another moment
they were on him. Then he was led
back and was searched in presence of
the household"
The narrator put her hands to her
face for few moments, then proceed
ed:
II never can think of that scene with
out terrible suffering. The butler
took from the man my pOrtemonnaie,
and. not knowing to whom it belonged,
opened it, The first thing he took from
it was one of my cards: the second,
Lucy Cranes ring. l turned white as
sheet. 1t was a few minutes before
the situation-the apparent situation
dawned upon every one. and when it
did it was my telltale pallor that re-
moved all doubt that l had stolen the
ring
Il went to my room and locked my
self in. What was l to do? What
could l do? Nothing. No one came to
me, and did not go out. though went
neither to bed nor to sleep. At sun
rise l left the house.
give years passed, during which the
secret of my supposed dishonesty was
so well kept (by Henry's requeso that
it injured me only with him, his fam
| lily and the guests present at the time
the ring was stolen. But il was ter
rible period for me. One day Il rough
| looking man accoSted me on the street
and asked for money. 1 took out my
purse and gave him a coin. He kept
looking in my face intently. Suddenly
he said. I've seen you before
"'Where?'
GIVE just done term for taking a
pocketbook. You We're there when 1
was searched
"'Are you that MANI
eyes. / got into the house when I
supposed all the family had gone down
to dinner. Then l saw you go into the
bathroom and pick up a ring
81 didn't intend to steal it. intend
ed to give its owner a lesson for leav-
ing it where 1t might be stolen
81 knew that by the look on your
| face-a mischief look Your back was
toward me, but saw you in the glass
over the basin. l followed you and
saw you leave the ring in your pocket
book on the mantel, and as soon as you
left the room l went and got it
az have been resting under suspicion
for your act for five years / blurted,
tears coming in spite of my efforts to
keep them back.
HE looked from me to the coin in his
hand and back from the coin to me.
"I'Il testify to your honesty he
said.
"'No one would believe you
az s'pect you're right he replied
thoughtfully. AT least it wouldn't do
to tell the truth. A lie might help. I'll
think it over. Who shall 1 tell about
itY
az gave him Henry's address, then left
| him without attaching much impor-
| lance to the meeting. In the first
place. / didn't think he would take any
trouble in the matter. and, in the sec
ond if he did had no confidence that
he would be believed.
1.-TWO weeks passed, and had ceased
to think about the ex-convict, when
one day my maid announced that
gentleman wished to see me in the
drawing room. 1 went down, and
there stood Henry. His first words
were Forgive mep
81 looked at him like one in dream.
Read that he said. handing me bit
of dirty paper on which was written in
pencil:
"Dere Slr-I hearn Teddy in your house
when 1 was arrested there fur steelen was
suspected wv taken the dimon ring. Sum
| an lef' it on the washstand. an TUX It
an put It in the pocketbook that 1 TUX
| too DANDY JIM.