The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1910-12-01
ieaera,,. yacht Al Cher

then t;o: VI general. yacht al cher.
bourg. FSss
Fan spoke little to me OF these peo-
PIE when they were o I felt quite
nappy that he made no mention Of
S ms daughter, Joan. Very foreign to-
stantly to and fro between our house
London; and I observed, not with
Out some uneasiness, that he had be-
come q little This was the
more remarkable because he has al
been ~singularly fearless and
pfave, ard 81 te risk his own life
nrst | thought that he must be out Of
nealth and would have had DR.. Will
cox over to see him; but he always
resents my attempts to coddIe him Gas
ne calls it), and so I forebore, and tried
TO find another reason.
There is no one quicker than a Sis
ter who loves, to detect those ailments
81 the heart from which no man is
free; but ! a become convinced by
lnls time that Fan cared nothing for
a Fordibras. and that her absence
abroad was not the cause OF his dis
quietude.
The first thing that I noticed was
his hesitation to leave me alone at
the manor. For the first time for some
years he declined to attend the an
nuai dinner Of his favorite club, the
Potters.
Il should not be able to catch the
last train down." he said one morning
at breakfast. Impossible, Harriet. I
must not go"
Why, whatever has come to you,
fsan?" said I, ARE you getting anxious
about poor old me? My dear boy, just
think how often / have been alone
here?"
Yes. but in future I don't Intend to
leave Q SO much. When the reasons
make themselves known to me, they
snail be known to you, Harriet. Mean
while, I am going to live at home. The
little Jap stops with me. he is COM
Ing down from town today, so / hope
you VIII make arrangements for
him."
He spoke of his japanese servant
okyada, whom he brought from Tokyo
with him three years ago. The little
fellow had served him most faithfully
at his chambers in the Albany, and I
was not displeased to have him down
IN Suffolk. Fans words. however, trou-
bled me greatly, for I imagined that
some danger threatened him in Lon
don, and a sisters heart was beating
already to discover 1t.
Cannot you tell me something,
Ean?"
He laughed boyishly in a way that
should ave treasured me.
II will tell you something. Harriet.
DO you remember the bronze pearls
that were stolen from my fiat in Paris
more than three years ago?"
% course, Ean-I remember them
perfectly How should I forget them?
You don't mean to say"
THAT 1 have them7 No
not quite. But I know where they
are"
Then you will recover them. Ean?"
"Ah, that is for tomorrow. Let
Okyada, by the way, have the room
next 70 my dressing room. He won't
interfere with my clothes, Harriet You
viii still be able to coddle ME as much
as you please !"
Now had I peer clever. I should have
put two and two together and have
foreseen that what Fan really feared
was another attempt upon the wonder
full collection OF rare Jewels he has
made-a collection the existence of
which, Is known to very few people,
but is accounted among the most beau,
tiful and rarest in the country. Fan /.
keeps his jewels-at least he kept
them until recently-in a concesIaH
safe in his own dressing room. and
very seldom was even I permitted to
peep into that holy of holies. Here
again some eccentricity of a loyable
character is to be traced. MY brother
would as soon have thought of wear
ing a diamond in his shirt front as of
painting his face like an Indian: but
these hidden Jewels he loved with a
rare ardor. and l do truly believe that
they had some share in his own scheme
of life. When he lost the bronze pearIs
In Paris. I know that he fretted like a
child for a broken toy. It was not their
value, not at all-he called them his
black angels, in Jest of course, and +
think that he believed some OF his own
good luck went with them.
This was the state OF things In the
months of May when okyada, the jan
anese, came from London and took IN
his residence at the manor. Fan told
me nothing; he never referred again
to the subject of his lost pearls. Much
OF his time was spent In his study.
where he occupied himself with the
book he was writing upon the legends
of the Adriatic. His leisure he gave
to his motor and his observatory. !
began to believe that whatever anxiety
troubled him had passed.; and in this
belief I should have continued but for
the alarming vents Of which I nov
write. And his brings me to the
middle of the summer; to be exact, the
18th day of June in the year 1904.
Fan, 1 remember, had come in from
a little trip to Cambridge about &
o'clock in the afternoon. He called his
servant, Okyada, to the study and they
were closeted there almost until din
ner time. In the drawing room. later
one, Fan spoke OF some of his deserted
hobbies and expressed regret that he
had given UP his yacht.
CONTINUED Next weax