The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

I | of true love pretended to be about to run 1 smooth for once. But it was pretense | only.
 On the morning of Rachers birthday 1 Blake rode to Frizinghall and took the l Moonstone from the bank. On his way | back he saw the same mysterious h. | dans standing by the roadside and re- l gardng him with sinister looks. He was
 glad that some of the guests bidden to the 1 birthday were riding with him, making | cavalcade of sufficient numbers to ren- | der any attack by the Indians out of the | question. But after all," thought Frank | lin, rather annoyed with himself, very | likely these fellows are merely band of
 strolling jusglers, who never heard of | the Moonstone. This diamond is getting | on my nerves"
 | Rachel was delighted with the gem
 when the yellow, shining splendor in its l strange Oriental setting was placed in l her hand. When she came to dinner 1t 1 glowed on her maiden bosom. At the sight of it a cry of surprise came from l one of the guests, MT. Murthwaite, cele- l brated traveller.
 l Excuse me-" he said to Rachel, 'but | the magnificent diamond you wear inter-
 ests me greatly. I know of but one. other | such stone, and that-well, it has his- 1 tory to it and has disappeared | "Oh,' replied Rachel, this is a legacy, 1 you must know; and it also has a history, l though I don't know exactly what that l history is. l believe my jewel is called ! the Moonstone, and was brought by an 1 uncle of mine from India years and years ago."
 l 'The Moonstonen exclaimed Murth- waite, Miss Verinder, let me tell you | that I would be safer among the widest tribes of Central Asia than you would be
 in India wearing that gem"
 "Really?" said Rachel 'Is my diamond
 so celebrated as all that? You must tell | me more about it.
 Just then the company arose from the | dinner table and went out upon the ter | race, where the gentlemen could have | their coffee and cigars without being sep arated from the ladies. As they sat there, Blake saw the mysterious Indians approach, and their leader, lowing low | to Lady Verinder, asked permission to
 show some of their tricks of legerdemain. | To the rest of the company the appear | ance of the jugglers was merely divert l ing incident but to Blake it was a most alarming one; and to Murthwaite it meant more than it did to Blake; for his knowl- | edge of the Moonstones history was more
 exact, and his suspicious of who the pre- 1 tended iugglers were and of the mission ! on which they were bent made him fear I for the innocent possessor of the Moon stone.
 1 After the Indians had performed a few simple tricks Murthwaite, who was an | expert not only in Indian history but in | the dialect of the great and mysterious | land stroled toward the performers and I said something apart in an Oriental tongue to the leader of the band. Blake, 1 who watching, saw that the Indian ' turned pale under the swarthiness of his | skin. With a look of defiance and fear l he turned to the traveller and asked him | to announce that no more tricks would l be performed that evening.
 1 Hastily the Indians gathered up their | paraphernalia and departed. What was | that you said to the jugglers?" asked | Blake of Murthwaite as soon he got | an opportunity to speak with him aside. Those were no jugslers,' replied the 1 traveller. "They were Brahmins of high caste. and it must be something of the | utmost importance that has induced them | to break that caste by crossing the wa 1 ter"
 Gan you guess what the object is?'
 asked Blake. 'I can-it is the Moonstone," answered Murthwaite. "nhese Indians | are, I firmly believe, the successors of | the chosen servants of the Moongod ap- | pointed to watch over the Moonstone and | to restore it. at whatever cost, to the | forehead of him whose seat is on the an- l telope'
 1 Blake groaned. And that gem you now 1 see shining upon the breast of her whom | I love-" said he. with my own hands I gave it to her, perhaps thereby ordain- | ing her to horrible fate. What is to be l done?"
 1 Well it is rather difficult to say, but l of course we ought not to alarm Miss Verinder unnecessarily" said Murthwaite 'I would suggest that we have talk | with Lady Verinder tomorrow and to get | her to persuade her daughter to have the 1 gem deposited at once with some banker | in London
 | The next morning there was dismay | and confusion in the house of Lady Yer l inder. The Moonstone had been stolen | during the night. In RacheIs sitting room. which opened off her bedroom. ! stood inlaid cabinet of East India f make The girl had publicly announced | that she was going to place the new gem | in drawer of this cabinet since 1t would | be so appropriate place for 1t. She had l deposited 1t there in the presence of her l maid, Penelope. Before retiring the maid | had said. ''Oh. missl The cabinet does not | even lock" And now the gem was gone, Blake at once sent off a message to | Frizinghall asking the arrest of the In- | dians, and then sought an interview with
 Rachel. He felt that he ought to take | on himself the detection of the thieves. l and he could not doubt that those myste- Tf, | He intended to tell Rachel the whole | story of the gem.
 To his surprise Rachel refused to see | him. Neither to Blake nor to any one else would the girl speak about the loss ! of the diamond. She had placed it in the | cabinet at night; in the morning 1t was | gone. That was all she had to say. I Almost all of the morning she kept her | room, and appeared to be in great mental | distress Once she emerged said a few l sharp words to Blake. looking at him l with eyes of scorn the while and then | retired again to her secluson. Lady Yer | finder expostulated in vain with her
 Franklin could imagine no explanation l given Rachel a nervous shock that had | affected her seriously.
 Sergeant Cuff. the great London detec- | tive. arrived. His trained eye at once | discovered that some of the paint had l been rubbed off the door of Rachels sit ting room. apparently by a garment which /, had brushed against it before 1t was dry The door had been painted in the forenoon | of the birthday. When Penelope had seen I her mistress to bed on that night she had noticed the door. and the smudge was ,1ot | there. Could 1t have been made the next | morning. after the theft? No: for the ve | nicle used in painting the door dried in Il | certain numbef of hours and no br,,sb ! ing garment could have made an impres sion on it after o'clock of the eventfuI 1 night.
 1 '-Hum," said Sergeant Cuff. looking as ~lx&1-