The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-09-24

ND If g GO til aapan ge u board
How's that 90 said /.
Elm going to tell ,you,' said he;
"and i yen stay, wen crack bottle
of port together.
He had whetted my curiosity now,
and presently | heard him nagging at
me. After that he threw the stable
door wide open, and dressed only, as
I could see, in loose dressing gown
and pair of carpet slippers, he led
the horse to a stall that had the half
of roof; crying to the maid to get
her down to the house Of man he
named, there to beg a feed Of corn and
doing it he shivered necessarily and
seemed eaten up with fear.
"You appear to think that I'm put
ting up with you, said I, when T
heard his orders; there's no need to
look after the nag-I shan't be here
ten minutes.'
"Not ten minutesl" he exclaimed,
still with quavering voice. ooh, but
you will-when you've heard my talk.
Would you sec me murdered?'
I did not answer, being in the main
amused at his attempts to get the horse
out of the trap, and particularly to
unbuckle the very stiff bellyband. The
girl nad gone tripping OIL WIN hefSeA
at that time / had no intention of stay
ing beyond an hour with him, un-
shafted the animal myself and tethered
the beast to the rickety manager, throw
ing my own rug across his 1oins; then
I followed Ladd thru black and
smoke-washed kitchen to dingy apart
ing suffered, he kindled a common
parafn lamp, which might have cost
shilling but would have been dear at
two.
"I'n be getting the port,' said he,
casting a wistful look at me in the
hope, perhaps, that I should decline his
nEiati0a to sgsE asz y9Sr net mind
tThanks; you may be sure won W
said I and while he was gone fumbling
down the passage, l saw that his dining
room had once been a fine apartment,
oak-panelled and spacious; and that an
cestors, whose rubicund iowls spoke Of
vey the enonomy below with agony un-
speakable. For. the. rest, there was lit
tie in the room but depressing Victorian
chairs in mahogany, and piano with
high back, such as our grandmothers
played upon.
tie in his hand. 1 smiled openly when
saw that it was pint; but he de-
| canted it with a fine show Of generosity,
and pushing a glass to me, took up the
matter which interested him at once.
"Where did ye. see my nephew?"
T9 GR sTe tb bse Vim IN 10Th 10Th
don, perhaps9'
at Pangbourne, last night,'' said I;
che had pretty woman with him,
and wanted to sell me two ,emeralds; -
L.
married in San Francisco" cried he,
"but she has no, sinecure; you didn t
hear that I paid his passage abroad
last spring after he'd robbed me of a
thousand-well, and it was emeralds he
wanted to sell you9'
rT0 Of the finest ha ger eyer
The import of the emeralds had evi.
IDENTIFY been lost upon him until this
time; but now Of sudden he realized
that he might be concerned in the bust
ness, and his agitation was renewed
81 wonder what emeralds they were9'
he asked d. as if to h%sef then mt turning
upstairs with me q minute7'
He did not wait for me to answer, but
led the way up bare stone steps to g
landing, off which there led two long
passages;, and in big and not uncom
Portable bedroom he showed me three
opened, and took therefrom case con
tanning seven emeralds of a size ano
quality apparently similar to the two
I had seen at Pangbourne. But -wher
he gave them to me to examine l saw
at once that FIVE of them were genuine
"Well,' said he, after I had looked
at them long and closely, Chow do yor
like them9'
- II like them well enough n , said !; I
Eat least, I. like FIVE, Of them, but the
other two are glass!'
clutched the stones from me with tht
trembling fingers of a mailman: Whe1
he had seen them for himself-beins
} judge enough to follow me in my cen
clusions-he began to roar. out oatn
and complaints most pitifully, -cursins
curse before or since. In my endeavo
} to calm him, I asked how, it could pos
sibly be that this fellow he feared hat
, got access to his safe; but he poured
out only an incoherent tale, begging M
, to send for the police, then not to leav'
} him, then falling to prophecy, and de
elaring that he would e, be BE- murdered der be
i Mss ST g ght have 'A' ever ''' seen
pointing strongly to the conclusion tina
the man was mad; and, in fact, wher
his jewels were concerned, sanity wa
not his strong point.
, By any by he got sufficient reason
to tell me that he had the administra
| ton Of some of his nephew 8 property
and that in his work he had at frs
fallen foul Of a man, headstrong, win
dictive, by no means honest, and, II
some moods, dangerous. Yet, ever
, knowing his relative character and tn
threats he had urged against him, h
could not tell how the safe was broken
+ or by what means the emeralds ha,
: gone. He was not even aware tina
> his nephew was in England; and ha'
been the first to bring intelligence O
$ his coming. I asked him, naturally, i
t these two stones represented the Who'll
i. of his loss. and at that he fell off agai
. to his raving, but took two keys of tn
8 larger safes from a secret drawer L
:, the smaller, as I could see; and began t
l pour upon the faded bed-cover a wealt
:, Of treasure which might have Dough
a city. Here were rubies of infnit
.. perfection, diamonds set in hundre
Q shapes, ropes of. pearls, boxes Of opals
8 bracelets Of every known pattern, ring
scarce to be numbered, aigrettes, neck
:, laces-in short, such stupendous sho1
o that the dark and dingy bedroom wa
r lighted with wondrous light, a myria
rays flashing UP from the bed, until tn
y whole place seemed touched with
!! wand, and changed to a chamber Of
:! thousand colors. Before the bed G
n Jewels the old man stood chattering an
moaning; now bathing, as it were,
Y the gems, now letting them ripple eve
hia bonds nr addressing tender endea