The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-09-10

once
I should be happy 10 advance il
without further Darley from my own
private purse said l, were il not that
the strain would be rather more than
it could bear. If. on the other hand,
l am TO do it in the name of the firm,
then, in justice to my partner, l must
insist that, even in your case, every
busine sslike precautiOn should be TAX
en-.
I should much prefer to have it
so, said he. raising up d square black
morocco case which he had laid beside
his chair. You have doubtless heard
of the Beryl COronet?'
one of the most precious posses
sions of the empire, said l.
Precisely He opened the case, and
there, Embedded in soft, fesh-cOlored
velvet, lay the magnificent piece OF
JeWelry which he had named. There
are thirty-nine enormous beryls, said
he, and the price of the gold chasing
is incalculable. The lowest estimate
would put the worth of the cOronet at
double the sum which / have asked.
am prepared to leave it with you as
my security
Il took the precious case into my
hands and looked in some perpleXity
You doubt its value?' he asked.
Not at all / only doubt
The propriety of my leaving it,
You may set your mind at rest about
that. I should not dream of doing so
were il not absolutely certain that l
should be able in four days TO reclaim
IL. lt is a pure matter of form. Is
the security sufficient"
Ample
You understand, Mr. Holder, that
1 am giving you a strong proof of the
confidence which / have in you, found
ed upon all that / have heard of you.
l rely upon you not only TO be discreet
and to refrain from all gossip upon the
matter, but above all, to preserve this
cOrOnet with every possible pTecau-
ton, because 1 need not say that a
great public scandal would be caused
if any harm were to befail il. Any
injury TO il would be almost as serious
as its complete loss. for there are no
beryls in the world to match these, and
it would be impossible to replace them.
l leave il with you. however with
every confidence, and ] shall call for it
in person on Monday morning
Seeing that my client was anxious
to leave. / said no more; but, calling
for my cashier, l ordered him To pay
over fifty 81 200 notes. When l was
alone once more. however, with the
precious case lying upon the table in
front of me, / could not but think with
some misgivings of the immense re-
sponsibility which il entailed upon me-
There could be no doubt that, as it was
aHatiOnal possession, a horrible scandal
would ensue if any misfortune should
occur to it. l already regretted having
ever consented to take charge of it.
However it was too late TO alter the
matter now, 50 / locked il up in my
private safe and turned once more to
my work.
When evening came I felt that it
would be an imprudence to leave so
precious a thing in the office behind
me. Bankers safes had been forced
before now, and why should not mine
be? If so how terrible would be the
position in which / should find myself.
determined. therefore that for the
next few days I would always carry
the case backward and forward with
me, so that il might never be really
out Of my reach. With this intention
l called cab and drove out to my
house at Streatham, carrying the jewel
with me. I did not breathe freely un-
til l had taken il upstairs and locked
II in the bureau of my dressing room.
And now a word as 10 my house
hold. Mr.. Holmes. for | wish you 10
thoroughly understand the situation.
My groom and my page sleep out of
the house, and may be set aside alto
gether. l have three maid servants,
who have been with me a number of
Years, and whose bsOlute reliability is
quite above suspicion. Another. Lucy
Parr. the second waiting maid, has
only been in my service a few months.
She came with an excellent character.
however. and has always given me sat
lsTactlOn. She is a very pretty girl and
has attracted admirers, who have oc-
casionally hung about the place. That
Is the only drawback which we have
found to her, but We believe her to be
a thoroughly good girl i'm every way.
so much for the servants My fam
lily itself is so small that it will not
take me long to describe it, I am a
WidoWer and have an only son. Arthur.
He has been a disappointment TO me,
Mr.. Holmes grievOus disappoint-
menL l have no doubt that | am my
self to blame. People tell me that
have spoiled him. Very likely I have.
When my dear wife died I felt that he
was all l had TO love. ] could not bear
to see the smile fade even for d mo-
ment from his face. have never de
MED him wish. Perhaps it would
have been better for both of US had I
been sterner but ! meant it for the
best.
1t was naturally my intention that
he should succeed me in my business,
but he was not of a business turn. He
was wild, wayward. and, TO speak the
truth, / could not trust him in the
handling of large sums cf money. When
he was young he became a member of
an aristOcratic club. and there, having
charming manners he was soon the
intimate of number of men with long
purses and expensive habits. He
learned 10 plav heavily at cards and
TO squander money on the turf, until
he had again and again to come TO me
and implore me to give him an ad-
vance upon his allowance. that he
might settle his debts of honor. He
tried more than once to break away
from the dangerous company which he
was keeping, but each time the influ-
ence OF his friend. Sir George BurnWen
was enough 10 draw him back again.
And, indeed, / could not wonder that
such a man as Sir George BurnWell
should gain an influence over him, for
he Ahas frequently brought him to my
hon Sc. and J have found myself that
lid hardly resist the fascination of
rs manner He is older than Arthur,
a man of the world TO his finger-tips
one who has been everywhere, seen
everything. a brilliant talkeT. and a
ma nof great personal beauty. Yet
when i think Of him in cold blood, far
away from the glamour of his pres
ence. l am convinced from his cynical
speech. and the look which 1 have
caught in his eyes, that he is one who
should be deeply distrusted SO |
think, and so. too. thinks my little
Mary, who has a wOman's quick in
sight into character
And now there is only she to be de-
scribed. She is my niece; but when ~
..aFr Loft