Rock Island Argus., 1911-04-28

ways S1e never EeISErsO 10 tue OOJeNb
OF my journey. told her that was
going home to a sweetheart 1 had not
seen In three years. and the sympathy
she gave me was delightful. She seem
ed to appreciate perfectly the feelings
Of q young man deeply in love. So In
terested was she In this that / told
her I would bring my fancee to see
her after reaching port, and she was
good enough to assure me that she
would be delighted to know her.
1t WAS after this refreshing conversa-
ton, in order to show some apprecia-
ton OF her interest in me, that said
to her:
81 feel perfectly safe in saying to
you that am carrying a very valuable
stone belonging to the Diamond com
pany to New York and wish to consult
you as to a safe place TO keep it. :,
TN that can't advise you. We wo-
men have methods OF concealing such
things that do not pertain to men. /
can't think OF any safe place where a
man can put such a treasure"
THE only safe place 1 know Is on
my person. have 1t suspended about
my waist day and night"
my dear boy" she said, what do
you mean by revealing such secret to
me or to any one?"
81 have perfect confidence in you."
"Nevertheless you should not have
told me such a secret"
"I shall surely tell no one else. If
any one can take it away from me by
force IN the daytime he's welcome To
do so. BY night am locked In my
room"
''I beg Of you to give your secret to
no one else"
The evening before making port my
friend while talking 20 me Of some del
icacies In the way OF eatables she had
aboard invited me to come to her state
room and partake OF them. She said
there would be no impropriety in my
doing so, since she would hook the door
wide open. / accepted her invitation.
Her stateroom faced on the same aisle
as mine, SO / had not far to 60 She
brought out some pate of chickens NV
ers and other nice things, including
some real madeira wine, g rarity out
side the island OF Madeira. 1 ate Of
her dainties and drank freely OF the
wine.
In the morning 1 awoke in my own
berth with remembrance OF my sup
per, but with no recollection as to how
I got into my own stateroom. l put
my hand to my waist, and the pouch l
kept slung there was gone.
Everything being quiet and no mo-
ton to the ship, l arose and looked out
through a portfolio. We were docked.
Dressing myself, went ashore. A few
Of the passengers remained, but my
lady friend was not among them, nor
were the two men against whom she
had warned me.
When / met my Rose after the first
transports OF our meeting 1 said TO
her:
And now you must hear the reason
of my coming and the story connect
ed with my journey. Beginning with
my meeting with my lady friend, told
her every incident-every word so far
as could remember the conversations
that had passed between me and her.
When 1 reached the part Of my story
where had told that ! kept the stone
about my waist Rose could not repress
the exclamation, 'Oh, how stupid"
And when l gave an account Of the
supper and my being drugged my
sweetheart was SO unkind as to say l
had been rightly served. l concluded
my story with these words:
"And now, my darling, the diamond
having been safely delivered and a
check in payment mailed to South
Africa, we have $1,000 on which to
begin housekeeping and an assured
salary
"'But the diamond is stolenv"
81 did not say so. In order to please
my guardian angel, as / called her,
told her where kept a lump of glass.
The diamond was in my trunk, fitted
with lock that 1 alone knew how to
open"
Rose jumped for me, throwing her
arms around my neck.
''And you suspected her from the
first?" she asked when the transports
had subsidized.
NO, didn't suspect her at all or
wouldn't have been drugged by her"
Explain"
"Well, you see, when she sympa-
thized so sweetly with me about you
she knocked the underptnning out
from beneath me. yearned to make
a return and thought that / couldn't
make a better one than by a show Of
confidence. So i told her about where
1 kept my treasure. only l omitted to
say that it was false one. thought
that would do as well"