The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-05-25

TO reason himself out of the belief
after taking all sensible precautions,
such as never letting the photograph
or Sophia Farrell out of his possession
and keeping the Token next his skin,
In a chamois bag that nestled beneath
his arm, swinging from a leather cord
round his neck. 1t was quite on
celvable that that jewel, intrinsioally
invaluable, was badly wanted by il
former possessors, whether for the
simple worth Of 1t or because 1t play
ed an important part in the intrigue,
or whatever IT was. that had resulted
In Rutton's suicide. For his own part
Amber cared nothing for II.
Such. In short, had been his frame
OF mind up to eight o'clock OF the
previous evening. At that hour he had
made a discovery which had diverted
the entire trend Of his thoughts.
Doggott. ever q poor sailor, had
been feeling Ill and Amber had excused
him early in the afternoon. About six
o'clock he had gone to his stateroom
and dressed for dinner, unattended.
Absorbed in anticipations OF the NOR
row. when first he should set foot in
Calcutta and take the first step IN
pursuit of Sophia Farrell, he had
absent-mindedly neglected to empty
the pockets of his discarded clothing.
At seven he had gone to dinner. iesv-
Ing his stateroom door open, as was
his habit-a not unusual n with
f~rstcabin passengers on long voyages
and his lannels swinging from
hooks In the wall. About eight, dis
absence OF his cigarette case. he had
hurried back to the stateroom co dis
cover that he had been %curiously
robbed.
His watch, his keys, his small
change and his sovereign purse, his
silver cigarette case-all the articles,
In fact, that he was accustomed to
stun into his pockets-with one ex-
ception, were where he had left them.
But the leather envelope containing
the portrait of Sophia Farrell was
missing from the breast-pocket OF his
coat.
From the hour in which he had OBJ
tanned II he had never but this once
let It GU of his personal possession.
The envelope he had caused to be con-
structed for its ~safe-keeping during
his enforced inaction In London. He
had never once looked at It save in
strict privacy, secure even from the
nNFn M Ihnn0ott. nn1 thn 1nftnr Ala
not know what the leather case con-
tanned.
Thus his preconceived and self-oon-
structed theory as to the extent OF
The Enemy's knowledge, was in an In
slant overthrow. They" had seized
the very first relaxation of his vigil
lance to rob him of that which he
valued most. And In his heart he
feared and believed that the incident
indicated their" intimacy not alone
with his secret but with that which he
shared with Colonel Farrell.
Since then his every move toward
regaining the photograph had been
Ruthless.
In the end, and in despair, Amber
posted a notice on the ships bulle
tin board, offering so g~uineas reward
for the return of the photograph to
him either before landing or at the
Great Eastern hotel, Calcutta, and
having thereby established his reputa.
ton as a mild ~lunatic, sat down to
twirl his thumbs and await the out
come, confidently anticipating there
would be none. They had outwit-
ted him and not 500 guineas would
tempt them" he believed. 1t re-
manned only to contrive a triumph in
despite Of this setback.
The Poonah slipped in to her dock
under cover Of darkness. Amber, dis
embarking with Doggott, climbed into
an open CHART on the landing stage
and was driven swiftly to his hotel,
AS he alighted and, leaving Doggott
to settle with the g~hariwallah. crossed
the sidewalk to the hotel entrance. a