The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-27
The Episode of the
Diamond Links

zerland accordingly Nobody can
drive Sir Charles, except his wife. And
nobody at all can drive Amelia.
There were difficulties at the outset,
because we had not ordered rooms at
the hotels beforehand, and it was well
on in the season; but they were over
come at last by the usual application
of a golden key: and we found our
selves in due time pleasantly quartered
in Lucerne, at that most comfortable
OF European hostelTies. the Schweit-
zerhof
We were a square party of four
Sir Charles and Amelia, myself and Is
abel. We had nice big rooms Vn the
first floor overlooking the lake; and as
none of US was possessed with the
faintest symptoms of that incipient
mania which shows itself in the form
OF an insane desire to climb noun
tain heights of disagreeable steepness
and unnecessary snowiness. | will ven
ture to assert We all enjoyed our
selves. We spent most Of our time
sensibly in lounging about the lake
on the jolly little steamers; and when
we did mountain climb, il was on the
Rigi or Pilatus-where an engine IN
dertook all the muscular work for us
AS usual. at the hotel, a great many
miscellaneous people showed A burn
ing desire to be specially nice to us.
If you wish to see how friendly and
charming humanity is. just try being
a well known millionaire for week
and you'll learn a thing or two
Wherever Sir Charles goes he is sur
rounded by charming and disinterest-
ed people, all eager to make his dis
tinguished acquaintance. and all famil-
lar with several excellent investments
or several deserving objects of Chris
tan charity. 1t is my business in life,
as his brother-in-law and secretary,
TO decline with thanks the excellent
investments, and to throw judiciOus
cold water on the objects of charity
Even 1 myself. as the great mans al
moner. am very much sought after
People casually allude before me to
artless stories of poor curates in
Cumberland you know, Mr.. Went
worth, or widows in Cornwall, penni-
less poets with epics In their desks,
and young painters who need but the
breath of patron TO open to them the
doors of an admiring academy.
smile and look wise, while / admins
ter cold water in minute doses; but
never report one of these cases to Sir
Charles, except in the rare or almost
unheard-of event where L think there
is really something in them.
Ever since our little adventure with
the Seer at Nice, Sir Charles, who is
constitutiOnally cautious, had been
even more cautious than usual about
possible sharpers. And as chance
would have #. there sat just opposite
us at table d'hote at the Schweitzerhof
It's a fad OF Amelia's TO dine at ia
Bile d'hote; she says she can't bear to
be boxed up all day in private rooms
with too much family"-a sinister
looking man with dark hair and eyes.
conspicuous by his bushy, overhanging
eyebrows. My attention was first
called to the eyebrows in question by
a nice little parsOn who sat at our
side, and who observed that they We're
made up of certain large and bristly
hairs which Che told us) had been
traced by Darwin to our monkey an
cestors. Very pleasant little fellow.
this fresh young parson, on his honey
moon tour with a nice wee wife, a bon
ME Scotch lassie with charming ac-
cent
I looked at the eyebrows close
Then a sudden thought struck me
DO you believe they're his own?"
asked OF the curate; cor are they only
stuck on-a makeup disguise? They
really almost look like it,
You don't suppose" Charles be-
gan. and checked himself suddenly.
Yes, 1 do" / answered: ''the Seer"
looked down sheepishly. For, to say
the truth, Vandrift had straightly en-
Joined on me long before TO say moth
ing of our painful little episode at Nice
to Amelia; he was afraid if she once
heard of II he would hear of it forever
after.
What Seer?" the little parson in
quired with parsonicaI curiosity
l noticed the man with the over
hanging eyebrows give a queer sort of
start. Charles glance was fixed upon
me. l hardly knew what to answer.
"Oh, man who was at Nice with us
last year." l stammered out, trying
hard to look unconcerned. "A fellow
they talked about. that's all And 1
turned the subject.
But the curate, like a donkey,
wouldn't let me turn it.
Had he eyebrows like that?" he
inquired in an undertOne. I was really
angry. If this was Colonel Clay. the
curate was obviously giving him the
cue and making ii much more diff
cult for us TO catch him, now we might
possibly have lighted on the chance of
doing so.
mo. he hadn't" I answered testify:
''it was passing expression. But this
Is not the man. I was mistaken, no
doubt" And I nudged him gently.
The little curate was too innocent
for anything. ooh. / see," he replied.
nodding hard and looking wise Then
he turned to his wife and made an OBJ
vious face, which the man with the
eyebrows couldn't fail to notice.
Fortunately. q political discussion
going on few places farther down the
table spread up TO us and diverted at
tention for a moment. The magical
name OF Gladstone saved us Sir
Charles flared up. was truly pleased.
for / could see Amelia was boiling over
with curiosity by this. time
After dinner. in the billiard room,
however the man with the big cye-
brows sidled up and began to talk To
me. If he was Colonel Clay. IL was
evident he bore us no grudge at all for
the e. 900 he had done us out of. On
the contrary, he seemed quite pre-
pared to do US out OF $4,000 more
when chance offered, for he introduced
pnerson. the exclusive grantee of OK
tensive concessions from the Brazil
ian government on the Upper Amazon.
He dived into conversation with me at
once as to the splendid mineral re-
sources of his Brazilian estate-the sill
yer. the platinum, the actual rubies.
the possible diamonds. I listened and
smiled: I knew what was coming All
he needed TO develop this magnificent
concession was a little capital II was
sad TO see thousands of pounds worth