Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-09-04

swallowed something. and his head
sank more deeply below his shoulders.
"Then l take it that you will not in
form me of the locality of this deposit?"
YES"
"And you think that by disclosing
your name and address you will reveal
that locality:"
Philip grew red.
'Is it fair" he said, with a curious
iciness in his tone, that man of your
age should use his position and knowl-
edge to try to trip a boy who is brought
before you on false charged"
1t was the magistrates turn to look
Slightly confused. There was some
asperty in his reply.
81 am not endeavoring to trip you,
but rather to help you to free yourself
from difficult position. However, do
I understand that you refuse to answer
my questions?'
81 dor The young voice rang
through the building with amazing
fierceness,
Mr.. Abingdon bent over the big book
in front Of him and scrubbed some
thing.
"Remanded for week." he NUT
tered.
Downstairs" growled the court
jailer, and Philip disappeared from
sight The magistrate was left gazing
ut the packet Of diamonds, and he call
ed Isaacstein, the clerk of the court
and two police inspectors into his pri-
vate office for a consultation.
Meanwhile London was placarded
with Philips adventures that Saturday
evening. Contents bills howled in their
blacklist and biggest type, news vend-
ers bawled themselves hoarse over this
latest sensation, journalistic ferrets
combined theory and Imagination in
the effort to spin out more copy"
Scotland Yard set its keenest detec-
tives at work to reveal the secret of
Philips identity, while Isaacstein, act.
ing on the magistrates instructions
wrote to every possible source of in.
formation in the effort to obtain some
clew as to recent meteoric showers.
| No one thought of connecting the
| great storm with the diamond mys.
terry" Meteors usually fall from a
clear sky and are in no way affected
by atmospheric disturbances, their
normal habitat being far beyond the
influence of the earths envelope of air
And SO the '.hunt for the meteor
commenced and was kept up with zest
for many days. "Have you found it?'
became the stock question of the hui
morist and might be addressed will
impunity to any stranger, particularly
II the stranger were nice looking girl
No one answered "What?' because oil
the weird replies that We're forthcom
ing.
The police failed utterly in their eff
forts to discover Philips identity OF
residence. Johnson's News, Mile End
road, might rs well be in Timbuktu
for all the relation it bore to Ludgate
Hill or Hatton Garden. An East End
policeman might have recognized Phil
lip had he seen him. but the official de
scription of his clothing and persona
appearance applied to thousands ,ol
hobbledehoys in every district in Lon
don.
Two persons among the 100000 OF
the metropolis alone possessed tho
knowledge that would have led the in
quirersalongth the right track. The doctor
who attended Mrs. Arson in her las
illness, had he read the newspaper
comment OH the boys speech and man
nerisms, might have seen the coinci
dence supplied by the Christian name
and thus been led to make some fur
Their investigation. But his hands wer,
full of trouble of his own account. I
dispenser mixed prescription wrong
ly and dosed a patient with half al
ounce Of arsenic instead of half III
ounce of cream of tartar. The suisse
quent inquest gave the doctor enough
to do, and the first paper he had lei
sure to peruse contained bare refer
ence to the diamond mystery" as re
vealing no further developments. H
passed the paragraph unread.
The remaining uncertain elemen
centerel in old O'Brien, the pensioner
discovered that by a clerical mistake
III II warrant the old man had beef
drawing twopence Il day In excess o
his rightful pension for thirty-thre
years. Some humorist in Whitehall
thereupon sent him Il demand for f1O
and 10 shillings, and the member o
the Whitechapel division was com
PEELED to adopt stern tactics in til,
house before the matter was adjusted
and O'Brien was allowed to receiv
the reduced quarterly stipend thel
J due. During that awful crisis the poo
old fellow hardly ate or slept. Ever
when 1t had ended the notion remain
ed firmly fixed in his mind that til
"murdherin government had robbie,
him of hundred gowlden sovereign
an more"
AS for newspapers, the only item h
read during many. days was the ques
ton addressed by his "mimber'' to tn
chancellor of the exchequer aud tn
brief reply thereto, both of which wer,
fixed beforehand by mutual arrange
ment.
In one instance the name given ant
afterward repndiated by the boy die
attract some attention. On the Mon
day following the remand lady sa-
ut breakfast in select West End no
tel and languidly perused the record Of
the case until her eye caught thu
words phillip Morland.' Then her ali
OF delicate hauteur vanished, and sh.
left her breakfast untouched until
with hawklike curving of neck ant
nervous clutching Of hands, She hat
read every line of the police court 10
nance. She was tall, thin, aristo
cratic looking woman. with eyes Sc
too closely together, Al curved nose Xix,
the beak of II bird of prey and hand.
covered with leathcry skin suggest
Ing talons. Her attire and pose wer,
elegant. but she did not seem to b,
pleasant sort of person. Her lin:
parted in vinegary smile us she read
She evidently did not believe one wore
of the newspaper report In so far Il.
the diamonds were concerned.
"A vulgar swindle" she murmuret
to herself. How Is 1t possible for /:
police magistrate to be taken in in sucl
manner? ! suppose Isaacsteln know.
mora 0hont n than pnpaars, an %ba ON,