Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-07-25

age should use his position and knowl-
edge to try to trip boy who is brought
before you on "A false charger
1t was the magistrates turn to look
slightly confused. There was some
asperity in his reply.
IL am not cndeavoring to trip you.
but rather to help you to free yourself
from a difficult position. However, do
| understand that you refuse to answer
my QuestionsY'
II do" The young voice rang
through the building with amazing
iiercencss.
Mr.. Abingdon bent over the big book
in front of him and scrubbed some
thing
demanded for week." he NUT
tered
"Dowustairs." growled the court
TALLER. and Philip disappeared from
sight. rho magistrate waS left gazing
at the packet Of diamonds, and he call
ed Isaacstcin, the clerk Of the court
and two police inspectors into his pri-
vate office for q consultation.
Meanwhile London was placarded
evening Contents bills howlcd in their
blacklist and biggest type, news vend-
ers bawlcd 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-
tivcs Mt work to reveal the secret of
Philips identity, while Isaacstein. act
inc on the magistrates instructions,
wrote 10 every possible source OF in
formation in the effort to obtain some
clcw as to recent meteoric showers.
No one thought Of connecting the
great storm with the diamond mys-
terry" Mete9rs usually fall from n
clear sky ana are in no way affected
Ivy atmospheric disturbances. their
normal habitat being far beyond the
influence OF the earth's 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 THO stock question of the hu-
morlSt and might he addressed with
IMMUNITY TO any stranger, particularly
If the stranger We're a nice looking girl
No one answered "What?" because Of
the weird replies that were forthcom-
ing.
The police failed utterly in their ef-
forts TO discover Philips identity or
residence. JohnsonS News, Mile End
road. might ms we'll he In Timbuktu
for all the relation it bore to Ludgate
Hill or Hatton Garden. An East End
policeman might have recognized Phil
ip had he seen him. but the official de-
scription Of his clothing and personal
appearance applied to thousands of
hobbledehoys in every district in Lon
don.
Two persons among the 100000 of
the metropolis alone possessed the
knowledge that would have led the in
Quirers along the right track. The doctor
who attended Mrs. Arson In her last
| Illness, had he read the newspaper
comment on the boys speech and man
ncrisms, might lave seen the coinci-
dence supplied by the Christian name
and thus been led to make some fur
Their investigation. But his hands were
full OF trouble of his own account. A
dispenser mixed a prescription wrong
ly and dosed n patient with half an
ounce of arsenic instead of half an
ounce Of cream of tartar. The suisse
uuent inquest gave the doctor enough
TO do, and the first paper he had lei
sure to peruse contained a bare refer
ence to the diamond mystery" as re-
ycaling no further developments. He
passed the paragraph unread.
The remaining uncertain element
centered in old O'Brien the psnsioner
| Now 1t CHANGED that the treasury had
| discovered that by a clerical mistake
Iii warrant the old man had been
! drawing twopencc q day in excess of
his rightful pension for thirty three
years. Some humorist in Whitehall
thereupon sent him a demand for f1U3
and l. shillngs. and the member of
the Whitechapel division was com.
| PEELED TO adopt stern tactics in the
| house before the matter was adjusted
and O'Brien was allowed 10 receive
the reduced quarterly stipend then
due. During that awful crisis the poor
old fellow hardly ate or slept. Even
when it had ended the notion remain
ed firmly fixed in his mind that tbs
"murdherin government lad robbed
him Of hundred gowlden sovereigns
an more"
AS for newspapers. the only item hi
read during many days was the ques
tiGn addressed by his "mimber" to the
chancellor Of the exchequer and tn.
brief reply thereto. both or which were
fixed beforehand by mutual arrange
ment.
In one instance the name given ant
afterward repudiated by the boy die
attract some attention. On the Mon
day following the remand lady ga
Mt breakfast In a select West End no
tel and langudly perused the record o
the case until her eye caught tn,
words philip Morland." Then her al
of delicate hauteur vanished, and sh
left her breakfast untouched until
with hawklike curving of neck an'
nervous clutchlng of hands, she ha,
read every line of the police court 70
nance. She was tall, thin, aristo
cratic looking woman, with eyes Sc
too closely together, a curved nose Xix
the beak of bird of prey and hand
covered with n leathery skin suggest
ing tnlons. Her attire and pose wer
elegant. but she did not seem TO b
a pleasant sort of person. Her lip
parted in a vinegary smile as she read
She evidently did not believe one wor