The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-09-28
THE DIAMOND RIVER

by DAVID MURRAY

tnat joke TO keep me young Tor tho next
forty years.
When Harvey returned the blinds were
drawn and the gas was burning, and the
young man was astonished at the beam
ing face his uncle wore. Now that the
beard was gone and the great fringe Of
dropping moustache was trimmed to neat
ness, there were unexpected Characters
tics of simple mirth and humor about the
mouth. and at this instant these signs
were at their broadest.
I've hit upon a scheme since you
went out" cried Jethroe. "'Tm going
to make a plan with Monboddo. Before
my decease / shall have confided my Sc
cret to Monboddo. / shall have told him
the name of one man at least to whom
these little documents of mine would be
of priceless value. I'm going to have
bogus copy made and a false key. After
my funeral Monboddo will possess him.
self of these, and, not knowing how to
use them to his advantage, will sell them
to my friend Ezekiel. My friend Ezekiel
will pay. Oh, he'll payi Monboddo shall
bleed him. Ha! ha! ha! Ezekiel will
try to swindle his partners, of course.
He'll gloat and exult and sweat his
brains for nothing; and then I'll put Mon
boddo on to another of the gang, and
make him sell Ezekiel. Harvey he said,
with a sudden rage Of exultation, "Il
make 'em drink the cup they poured for
me! / don't know if you know it," he
continued, with an immediate return to
quietude of voice and manner, but I've
carried my life in my hands for years
on end. I'm not timid man by nature,
and custom has hardened me good deal.
And yet, you know, the fact Of being
hunted for ones life is not a pleasant
thing; and when you've had year or
two of the wear and tear of It, 1t grows
irksome. Your nerves will play tricks
sometimes. Yen hear footsteps and
breathings in the dark The thing comes
on you in your dreams, and ia my dreams
I'm an arrant coward. My friend Eze-
KEEL by the way, is fond of heavy sup
per. fancy he'll be changing his habits
In that respect before six months are
over"
was a magnetism in the man who. while
threatened, hunted, and in peril of his
life, confronted the situation, and con-
trolled 1t and used it for his own angrily
mirthful purpose Within half an hour
the younger man was away at the elders
bidding in search of a lithographic art
list. In an hour he was back with his
man, a sort Of business mind whose vo-
eabulary seemed limited to the one
phrase "Ou. ayr Wanted to transcribe
chess problems? "Ou. ayr On thin
vellum? lou, ayr OF this size, six
problems aside? "Ou, ay" Himself
chess player? lou, ayr Then the bust
ness man grew loquacious. and said, "a
bit of one," and after that conversational
outburst withdrew to prepare his ssti
mate.
Jethroe insisted on going to the the
alter after dinner, but Harvey thought 1t
impolitic to accompany him, and he went
alone.
Il don't know myself" he declared
when he returned. I'm a trife short
sighted for the theater nowadays, and
l stepped into an oculist's and bought
an eyeglass on my way. l was dandy
at your age, Harvey, and it was a trick
Of mine to wear one. / saw q tall, mill
tary looking fellow walking straight at
me in the vestibule Of the theater, and
skipped out of his way. He skipped into
mine. l skipped back again, and so did
he. 1t wasn't till the third skip / found
I was lodging my own reflection. It's q
good disguise, ehT'
Its an astonishing change" Harvey
assented, "but / wouldn't rely upon it
too much. It's growing familiar to me
already 1 can see the old frame about
the face. The eyes are there"
"Ye-es," said Jethroe, examining him
self in the pier glass, * suppose they
are"
And the voice is there" said Harvey.
Eyes, confound it, l know that.
can't tune that laundering old bassoon
to another note. Never mind We're
out of action for the time being, and
under good shelter"
They sat till long after midnight, and
Jethroe the elder did the talking. He
spread out a wild panorama of the rug
ged Andes, and he peopled these strange
places with adventures, gold seekers,
diamond seekers, illicit diamond buyers,
the widest kinds of rascal and the sound
est hearted of men-a phantasmagoria
of all that is best and worst in human
nature, sneak and swindler and bully and
hero, a most strange, mixed crowd of ex-
emplars Of the highest and the lowest.
And the talker was a man with an eye
for character, and reported at first hand
of what he knew; SO that his speech
fascinated the bankers clerk, who had
known nothing of the world but its rout-
inc. But Jethroe the younger had the
family eye for character, and the thing
| that most impressed him was that this
remarkable uncle at every turn display
ed unconsciousiy a very sterling honor
| and a rare good heart.
That nights talk made them comrades,
and their parting handshake was q COM
pact.