Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1907-08-16
CONTINUED
CHAPTER ~.

Il
81 spot of blood on the breast Of
him to whom l had given my heart
could read but one guilt-hein-
Gus guilt. guilt denied and now brought
to light in language that could be seen
and read by all men. Why should 1
stay In such n presence? Had not the
Inspector himself advised me to go?
Yes, but another voice babe me re-
main. Just as l reached the door An
son Durand found his voice, and 1
heard, In the full, sweet tones l loved
so we'll:
"Wait! 1 am not to be judged like
this. l will explain"
But here the inspector interposed.
"Do you think it wise to make any
such attempt without the advice OF
counsel Mr. Durand"
The indignation with which Mr.. Du-
rand wheeled toward him raised in me
faint hope.
Good God. yes" he cried. "Would
you have me leave Miss Van Arsdale
one minute longer than is necessary
to such dreadful doubts? Rita-MIiss
only has brought me into my present
position. did not kill Mrs. Fairbroth-
er nor did | knowingly take her dia-
mond. though appearances look that
way, as | am very ready to acknowl-
edge. | did 20 to Der in the alcove, not
once, but twice. and these are my rea-
sons for doing so: About three months
a 90 u In NJ
nous wealth came to me with the re-
quest that l should procure for him Il
diamond of superior beauty. He
wished to give it to his wife, and he
wished it to outshine any which could
now be found in New York This
meant sending abroad-an expense he
was quite willing to incur on the sole
condition that the stone should not dis
appoint him when he saw it and that
it was to be in his hands on the 18th
Of March, his wifes birthday. Never
before had l had such an opportunity
for a large stroke of business. Natur-
ally elated. | entered at once into cor
respondence with the best known deal
ers on the other side, and last week a
seemed to fill all the necessary require
ments. | had never seen a finer stone
and was consequently rejoicing in my
success when some one, | do not re-
member who now, CHANGED to speak in
my hearing of the wonderful stone pos
seSsed by certain Mrs. Fairbrother-
stone so large. so brilliant and so
n fBaf oh oil
wore it, though it was known to con-
nosseurs and had great reputation at
Tiffany's, where it had once been sent
for some alteration in the setting. Was
this stone larger and finer than the one
| had procured with so much trouble =?
If so, my labor had all been in vain, for
my patron must have known o, this
diamond and would expect to see it
surpassed
81 was so upset by this possibility
that | resolved to see the jewel and
make comparisons for myself. l found
a friend who agreed to introduce me
to the lady. She received me very
graciously and was amiable enough
until the subject of diamonds was
preached, when she Immediately stiff
ened and left me without an oppor-
tunity of proffering my request. How
ever, on every other subject she was
affable, and l found it easy enough to
pursue the acquaintance till we were
almost on friendly terms. But l never
saw the diamond, nor would she talk
about it, though / caused her some
surprise when one day | drew out be-
fore her eyes the one | had procured
for my patron and made her look at it,
Fine she cried, 'finen But | failed
TO detect any envy in her manner, and
so knew that | had not achieved the
object set me by my wealthy customer,
This was woeful disappointment;
yet, as Mrs. Fairbrother never wore
her diamond, it was among the posi-
bilities that he might be satisfied with
the very fine gem | had obtained for
him, and, influenced by this hope,
sent him this morning request to
come and see it tomorrow Tonight !
attended this ball, and almost as soon
as | entered the drawing room | hear
that Mrs. Fairbrother is present and
Is wearing her famous jewel. What
could you expect of me? Why, that |
would make an effort TO see it and so
be ready with reply to my exacting
customer when he should ask me to-
morrow If the stone l showed dim had