The semi-weekly messenger., 1908-01-14


er had been taan away.
The face which thought the sweet
est on earth was marble white, and
there were dark shadows Under her
lashes
There's something 1 must say 10
you" she something I've
been wild to say all Gay lest it should
be too late, but | dared not let any
one suspect A month ago father CON
fiGed TO- me that he had lost a great
deal of money@and he showed me how
TO open a secret drawer in his Chip
pendale bureau. If ever any thiE :
happens to me- he said, don't lose a
moment, but look into this drawer.
throw away everything that you will
find III the left-hanc partition, and
keep what may be in the right. .
Together we raHsacked the Old
bureau and at length Nell touched
the spring which opened the .secre.
arawcr, I drew in my breath sharp
~, for the light Of the candle which
| held struck out a gIeam from a Pile
Of exQuisiteIy made false stones, which
lay in a partition on the left hand,
while on the right was the Lambton
diamond
lnvoluntarily | berayed the dread
lul nature OF the discovery by an cX-
for, left to herself, Nell
would not have understood But she
vas quick TO comprehend; and, rea-
llzing the worst she swayed, staggcr-
ing backward.
My poor fatheE !" she moaaed, a.
held her, He is ruined forever
and |, too. The daughter of a con
vtcted thief is no fit wife for an hon-
est man"
My darling Yon are wife for
king; and as for your father. /
swear to you that I will. save him
ret"
You ?-you cannot :"
Il tell you that | can and will"
FOR even as spoke an idea had flash
- into my head which startled jiIe uy
is audacity. In a moment | had
bought out every detail !
: made up the stones, Lambton dia-
sond and all, into packet, CAREFULLY !
lOsing the secret drawer, and cOntriy- |
hg to get away Without being seem,
vent straight to my brothers
CLseein Kent, managing to avoid tine,
ervice of a subpoena. Thus | was not ;
crescent at the police court PROCEED !
n2s, which would have meant ruin for F,
ny plan. /
. NJ. Nugent was committed for trial, ,
tad meanwhile | stayed in the coun- |
ry working each night in my locked !
som, with the tools: / Ihad brought |
"lth me, until the grey dawn filtered |
nder my closed shutters. When |
aw my old employer in the dock at the |
rial | was shocked r at the ghastly |
'hanSe which had come over him. I
The evidence at first went steadily
against him. It WAS proved that he |
lad lost money heavily on the race
course. Lord Lambton swore that the |
stone 1 nthe ring delivered to HIM by
Mr.. Nugent's own hand was not his |
liamOnd One expert testified that
lOt only was the stone he now. saw
'Ot the Lambton diamond, but not a
genuine jewel at ALL but a marvellous
imitation. Another was not SO pos
I've. He looked at the gem through
his glass, turning it this way aad that
declaring that in all his experience he
Lad never seen a false stone 50 clear
y executed as this. Indeed he was
not prepared to swear that it was
false
This was the frs ray Of doubt
which had been thrown ty the evi-
aence upon Mr.. Nugent's. guilt; and
then; | went into the box. I was very
cool now, for the game had deter
mined on had cost me many a qualn.
Of conscience. But l had no inten-
ing falsely, or furnishing my personal
honor.
The preliminary question of the
counsel brought out the
fact that I had designed the rings
setting, and done ali the work upon
it.
"An extremely valuable white dia-
mond," I replied.
''Do you swear that you set the gen
uine stone and delivered the rign
when finished to the prisoner"
Il do"
DO you consider it possible that
that stone might have been taken out
and an imitation one substituted"
"CertainIy But I could tell whether
the ring had been tampered with since
it left my hands"
Take this, then, examine it, and
inform the court if that is the stone
you set
The ring was handed TO me and a
hush fell upon the court-the kind Of
lull which denotes that vital point
in the case has been reached