The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-12-08
Z. AN. 4. you have no trace .. any YES.

SELF" " ~ Z - n,
..Lloyds can tell us nothing"
IL remained to see what Baron Louis
lie Eothchild would have to say; and
when had reminded hurry Of that I
took my leave.
And this will bring me to the last and
most astonishing feature OF this per-
picking mystery Baron Louis ex-
pressed the greatest incredulity when
no heard Of the loss OF his famous
jewel 1t was ut his bankers In Paris,
ne declared. A telegram to the French
house brought the reply that they had
| the stone sure enough. and that it was
IN safe keeping; both literally and In
metaphor. To this I answered that IL
the bankers would cause tho stone to
be examined for the second time, they
would find 1t to be false. One more
fact confirmed my suspicious The
jewel in Paris was a coarse stone, of
little value. and as unlike the real gem
as any stone could be. Plainly. the
baron had been robbed, though when
ana by whom he had not the remoteg;
idea. 10
/ waited three years to meet man
with three fingers, and met him at last
In ballroom in Kensington.
seven Bohemians went at my charge
10 the Fancy Fair and Fete at Ken
sington. 1 remained three hours, II
you say that woman solved the rid
Ole, VIII answer. I'm a measure, yes"
Joan Fordibras introduced herself to
me by thrusting bunch OF roses into
my face. Some story in the girls ex-
preston. some power OF soul shining
In her eyes. enchanted me and held me
fast. The story, said, had no moral to
II. They were not the eyes Of an inno-
cent child of 10, as they should have
peen. They We're the eyes of one who
lrV - 80
the lantern of life--who carried a great
secret and had met a man who was
prepared to fathon, IL.
Joan Fordibras, that was her name.
Judged by her impulsive manner. the
brightness Of her. talk and the sweet
ness or her laugh, there wasS no more
light hearted girl in England that
night. I alone, perhaps. in ali that
room could tell myself that she rsarried
heavy burden and woulds escape from
will. -. - 's>''
When had danced twice with her.
she presented me to her father, Cen
eral Fordibras--a fine military figure of
man, erect and manly and gifted with
eyes which many q woman must have
remembered. General Fordibras. Il
appears. had but three fingers to his
left hand.
Who was this General Fordibras. and
what did the daughter know OF his life?
invited them both to my house IN
Suffolk. and thither they came in the
spring OF the year. Okyada. the
shrewdest servant that ever earned the
love and gratitude of an affcctionate
master, could rot help me to identity
the general l concluded that he was
just what he pretended to be, French
man naturalized In America; rich
man to boot, and the owner of the
steam yacht Connecticut. as he HIM
self had told me. One less persistent
would have put suspicion by and adj
United that circumstances justified no
doubt about these people; that they
were truly father and daughter travel.
ing for pleasure In Europe. and that
any other superstition must BE an out,
rage. Indeed. came near to beliey-
ing so myself. The pearls which had
been stolen from me In Paris was II
not possible that the general had
bought them III market overly. To saw
that his agents had stolen them, and
that his daughter wore them under
my very nose, would. be to write him
down maniac. In moments of sentf-
ment l could recall the woinanly ten
derness and distress of little Joan For
dibras and wonder that had made 40
slight a response. There were other
hours when. / said: Beware, there is
danger; these people know you; they
blame human nature alone IL this lat
ter view came to be established at no
distant date. Three men burp.aring
my house in Suffolk In the month Of
June. Two Of them escaped; the third
put his hands upon the brass knob of
my safe and the electric wires I had
trained there held him as by vice
of fire. He fell shrieking at my feet.
and in less than an hol,r I had his
story. or course, i had Seen waiting
for these men. An instinct such as
mine can be diverted by no suggestions
either romantic or platonic From the
first, my reason had said that General
Fordibras might have come to Deep
dene for no other reason than to pre-
pare the way for the humber instru-
ments who should follow after. Ok
kada my little Jap, he of the panther's
tread and the eagle eye-he stood sem
tinel during these weeks, and no blade
of grass In all my park could have been
trodden but that he would have known
1t. We were twice ready for all that
might occur.
/ dragged the thief to his feet and
began to threaten and to question him.
He was lad OF 20, / should say,
Ratchet faced. and with tousley yellow
hair.
years penal servitude waiting for you
on the doorstep. Let me see that there
is some spark of manhood left in you
vet Otherwise" but here I pointed
to the electric wires which had burned
his hands. and he shuddcred at by
gesture.
"oh, I'll play the game" he said;
Do what you like-Pm not afraid of
YOU"
CONTINUED Next Weekly