Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-12

and was leaving the house, without
having suffered an alarm, when some
instinct of self-preservation suggested
to him the advisability of arming him
self with a pistol. His own was in
Maine, but he remembered where
Sears kept his; he had seen 1t often
enough in that old trunk he had
brought with him from the Sierras.
| He accordingly went UP stairs to the
stewards room, found the pistol and
| became from that instant inyincible.
But in restoring the articles he had
pulled out he came across q photo
graph of his wife and lost himself
over it and went mad, as we have
heard the detective tell. That later,
he should succeed in trapping this de-
| tective and should leave the house
without qualm as to his fate shows
| what sort of man he was in moments
of extreme danger. doubt, from
what have heard Of him since, If he
| ever gave two thoughts to the man
after he had sprung the double lock
| on him; which, considering his ex-
IRENE ignorance of who his victim
| was or what relation he bore to his
own fate, was certainly remarkable.
| Back again in c., he made his
| final preparations for departure He
had already communicated with the
captain of the launch, who may or
| may not have known his passengers
real name. He says that he supposed
| hi INTO be some oagent of Mr.. Fair
| brothers; that among the first orders
he received from that gentleman was
one to the effect that he was to follow
the instructions of one Wellgood as II
they came from himself; that he had
done so, and not till he had Mr.. Fair
| brother on board had he known whom
4 he was expected to carry into other
waters However, there are many who
do not believe the captain. Fair
ton In the men who worked for him,
and probably this man was another
| Sears.
To leave speculation, all was In
train, then, and freedom but a quarter
Of mile away, when the boat he was
in was stopped by another and he
heard Mr.. Grey's voice demanding the
Jewel.
The shock was severe and he had
need of all the nerve which had
hitherto made his career SO prosper
Gus, to sustain the encounter with the
calmness which alone could carry OF
the situation. Declaring that the dia-
mond was In New York, he promised
to restore it If the other would make
the sacrifice worth while by con-
tinuing to preserve his hitherto
admirable silence concerning him.
Mr.. Grey responded by granting
him just twenty-four hours; and when
long enough and allowed his hand to
| steal ominously to his breast, he re.
| peated still more decisively, Twenty
| four hours"
The examiner honored bravery.
Withdrawing his hand from his breast,
he brought out notebook instead Of
a pistol and, In tone fully as deter
mined, replied: "The diamond Is in a
place inaccessible to any. one but my.
self. If you will put your name to 3
| promise not to betray me for the
thirty-six hours ask, will sign one
to restore you the diamond before
one-thirty o'clock on Friday
~ will" said Mr.. Grey.
So the promises were written and
duly exchanged. Mr.. Grey returned
| to New York and Fairbrother boarded
his launch.
The diamond really was In New
York, and to him 1t seemed more pol
itic to use it as a means Of securing
Mr.. Grey's permanent silence than to
| fly the country, leaving man behind
him who knew his secret and could
precipitate his doom with a word. He
would, therefore, go to New York,
play his last great card and, If he lost,
be no worse off than he was now. He
did not mean to lose.
But he had not calculated on any In
herent weakness in himself, had not
calculated on Providence. A dish
tumbled and with it fell into chaos
the fair structure Of his dreams. With
the cry of "Grizel! Grizel!" he gave
up his secret, his hopes and his life.
There was no retrieval possible after
that. The star of Abner Fairbrother
had set.
Mr.. Grey and his daughter learned
very soon of my relations to Mr.. Dur
and, but through the precautions of
the inspector and my own powers Of
selfcontro1, no suspicion has ever
crossed their minds of the part once
played in the matter of the stiletto..
This was amply proved by the invi-
tatton Mr.. Durand and have Just re-
ceived to spend our honeymoon at
Darlington Manor.
The End.