Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-05
CHAPTER XIII.
The Great Moaul.

The Great Mogul.
! Later, it was all explained. Mr..
Grey, looking like another man, came
into the room where was endeavor-
ing to soothe his startled daughter
and devour In secret my own Joy. TAX
ing the sweet girl in his arms, he said,
with calm Ignoring of my presence,
at which secretly smiled:
This is the happiest moment of my
1 existence, Helen. feel as If had
recovered you from the brink of the
grave"
"Me? Why, have never been so
i'll as that"
II know; but have felt as If you
were doomed ever since l heard, or
thought heard, in this city, and I'M
der no ordinary circum stances, the pc.
culiar cry which haunts our house on
the eve of any great misfortune.
shall not apologize for my fears: you
know that have good cause for them,
but today, only today, l have heard
from the lips of the most arrant knave
have ever known, that this cry
sprang from himself with intent to de-
ceive me. He knew my weakness:
knew the cry; he was in Darlington
Manor when Cecilia died; and, wish
ing to startle me into dropping some
thing Which held, made use Of his
ventriloquial powers Che had been a
mountebank once, poor wretchD and
with such effect, that have not been
happy man since, in spite of your
daily improvement and continued
promise of recovery. But am happy
now, relieved and joyful; and this
miserable being,-would you like to
hear his story? Are you strong enough
for anything so tragic? He is thief
and murderer, but he has feelings,
and his life has been a curious one,
and strongly interviewer with ours.
Do you care to hear about It? He is
the man who stole our diamond"
My patient uttered little cry.
ooh, tell me" she entreated, ex-
cited, but not unhealthfully; while L
was in an anguish of curiosity I could
with difficulty conceal
| Mr.. Grey turned with curtesy to-
ward me and asked If a few family de-
tails would bore me. l smiled and as
sured him to the contrary. At which
he settled himself in the chair he liked
best and began tale which will per.
NIT myself to present to you complete
and from other points Of view than his
own.
Some five years before, one Of the
great diamonds of the world was
offered for sale in an Eastern market.
Mr.. Grey, who stopped at no expense
in the qualification of his taste in this
direction, Immediately sent his agent
to Egypt to examine this stone. If the
agent discovered 1t to be all that was
claimed for It, and within the reach of
wealthy commoner's purse, he was
to buy it. Upon inspection, 1t was
found to be all that was claimed, with
one exception. In the center of one of
the facets was flaw, but, as this was
considered to mark the diamond, and
rather add to than detract from its
vaalue as a traditional stone with
many historical associations, 1t was
finally purchased by Mr.. Grey and
placed among his treasures in his
manor-house in Kent. Never q sus-
picious man, he took delight in exhib-
iting this acquisition to such of his
friends and acquaintances as were like
ly to feel any interest in it, and 1t was
not an uncommon thing for him to
allow 1t to pass from hand to hand
while he pottered over his other treas
ures and displayed this and that to
such as had no eyes for the diamond.
1t was after on such occasion that
he found, on taking the stone In his
hand to replace 1t in the safe he had
had built for it in one of his cabinets,
that 1t did not strike his eye with its
usual force and brlliancy, and, on ex-
aiming 1t closely, he discovered the
absence Of the telltale flaw. Struck
with dismay, he submitted it to still
more rigid inspection. when he found
that what he held was not even a
diamond, but worthless bit of glass.
which had been substituted by some
cunning knave for his Invaluable gem.
For the moment his humiliation al
most equaled his sense of loss; he had
been so often warned of the danger he
ran In letting so priceless an object
pass around under all eyes but his
own. His wife and friends had
prophesied some such loss as this, not
once, but many times, and he had al
ways laughed at their fears, saying
that he knew his friends, and there
was not scamp amongst them. But
now he saw it proved that even the
intuition Of man well-versed in hui
man nature is not always infallible,
and, ashamed Of his past laxness and
more ashamed yet of the doubts which
this experience called up in regard to
all his friends, ne shut up the false
stone with his usual care and buried
his loss in his own bosom, till he could
sift his Impressions and recall with
some degree OF probability the circum-
stances under which this exchange
could have been made.
1t had not been made that evening.
OF this he was positive. The only per
sons present on this occasion were
friends of such standing and repute
that suspicion In their regard was SIM
4 ( E.