The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-27
RESERWEM.

tache0 To rOcA on Ine shuho, h@U
 been sunk in the Shiyering Sands
 .The lost Moonstone at iastr' thought | Franklin.
 He found the case He opened 1t. It | contained no diamond from the brow . of the Regent of the Night. What vas
 in 1t was a mans night gown ana a letter. The letter was a long, hysteri- cal one. signed by Rosanna Spearman. In it she confessed her love for Blake land told him that in making up hts room on the morning after the robbery of the diamond she had picked up his nightgown and found paint on 1t, which proved that he had been In the sitting room of Miss verinder during the night. Because of her love for him she had taken the discriminating gar Fment to her own room when Sic de- tectives began their work. They, in order that it might not be discovered. she had purchased the metal case, placed the nightgown In It ana sunk 1t where he had found it. Also. in or der that the search might not dis cover that any of his linen was miss inr. Rosanna had purchased cloth in | Frizinghail and, while pretending to. be III in her room. had made another nightgown exactly like H. washed ana ironed it and finally placed 1t among I When she had discovered. the unfor- l tunate girl wrete, that Blake was thief as she herself had been, she had q hope that in spite of the difference of their social stations and her plain face and deformed body he might yet he hare. His gratitude for her efforts to shield him from the consequences of his crime would, she thought in-
 cline him in her favor if nothing else would. She had tried to let him know that she held his secret. but each time her courage had failed her and his cold | Al he finally gone away she had yielded to
 despair and would be dead when ne read the letter.
 Franklin examined the nighfgown.
 It was .his--marixed with his own name
 sWeIl,' he said. "there doesn't seem to
 be much doubt but that stole that dismond--either I or a double l have
 somewhere This sort of thing Is real lv ursposterous. Here Is girl who I fails fin love with me and commits sui- | eide and I don't even remember hav- ing spoken five words with her--@nd
 she charges me with stealing me ! Moonstone. Here is my own night | gown bearing testimony against me,
 and there are the words of Rachel.
 what does all this man, anyway Am
 crazy, or is all the rest of the woridY''
 TO cool his brain Blake walked across
 the fields to Frizinghail. T will call l on old Dr. Candy. who was, remefn- 4 ber. ct the birthday dinner" be
 thought. 'He is clever old gentle
 man and perhaps can give me some
 li9ht in all this darkness"
 Blake found the doctor fin feeble
 state of health and a feebler state or
 mind. He tried painfully but vainiy so
 ed him to know. That 1t was some"
 thing of some importance seemed evil
 dent: but his poor intellect, once SC
 bright, could not formulate the thoughts
 for him or compel their utterance.
 However. Blake had . long talk witn m
 the doctors assistant, who said that
 his chief had often tried to speak of I Blake and tell something which he
 wanted him to know.
 TrroYn fragmentary notes that he had
 made of the doctors disjointed words l he had come to the conclusion that "
 was something that happened on the
 night of the birthday dinner. Blake
 complained of being unable to sleep
 and had ecoffed at the medical profes-
 sion. Surreptitiously, the doctor mad
 administered to the young scoffer
 dose of laudauum. He had intended tc
 tell him the next morning what he had
 done and to laugh at hiu1-to show that
 medicine could do something. But ( | sudden illness had interposed. This . thought the assistant, was still on the 0 doctors mind.
 Blake, at first disappointed at learn Il SOrQGlutnA I suddenly was seized with an idea. Ht 2 1 fold the assistant the whole story oi 2 The Moonstone and asked if it could a l pogsibIy be that the laudanum had pro e tiuced a state of sonambulism in whicf : he had really committed the inert $ ssPossibly," said the assistant; let ui r try an experiment"
 h lie proposed that Franklin was ts ' get himself as nearly as possible into a inc same physical condition as he wal . on the night of the birthday. The In terior of Lady Verinder's house was tt O be arranged as 1t was on that nlshs , f Franklin was to take dose of iaud
 anum, Ro to bed in the same room h' A had occupied on the night of the thef 2 and watchers would note what hap 4 pened.
 2 degree. Franklin, in his laudanun o dream, stalked into RachePs sfttinf room took from the cabinet piece O z crystal that had been placed there = Then he sat down on a sofa and wen
 into e stupor.
 He was convinced now that he ha' . stolen the MoonstOne--but what had h' i. done with it? ,: ITnknown to Franklin, an intereste' 7 watcher had been a witness of tni 2 strange experiment., Rachel had peei . told of what had been arranged ent had come down Secretly to Yorkshire ,. to witness tho result
 "Oh Franklin" she said when thel ' met the next day, T am perfectly sat 2 isfied. It was only your persistence z denying that you had taken the Moon - stone that made me so hard wlth you
 'Well, I fancy stole it. all right, n replied Franklin. Il only wish coul'
 restore 1t to you"
 "oh! Bother the MoonstoneF erie' l. Rachel. q never want to hear of I
 again." ,. f., 4.
 well, let me give you myself In it e place them" said Franklin. and Rache did not say him nay. U But though the whereabouts or tns Moonstone thus ceased to trouble tht
 two most vitally concerned. the gem re- T mained important to others. Mir. Blun . the solicitor, learned that the day wal ' approaching when Luker was to take 2 the gem he had placed In the banA z out of deposit. If it was the Moon ''Ss stone. the Indians would be on hand
 Brun and Blake and some trusty as'
 sistanta went to the bank. They saw :. LuIrer come In, hand a paper to a man ,t behind a desk receive small pack - age In return and go out. On his way ,, out Luker brushed against or spoke tc
 several men. As MT. Bruff had ar d ranged these men were all followed
 A bright boy in Brun's employ fol .a lowed a man dressed like a sailor and '. evidently disguised. He soon noticed 4ha ilor rvaa f0IIovad by A thin