The Springfield herald., 1912-06-07

doors which seemed to give access 10
the yard; but led only into gloomy
shuttered chambers where curious
shapes of the yellow rays came
through the dusty crevices. At last.
however, l reached the frowsy kitch-
en-, and the yard, and stood minute
to breathe the chill night air, and to
think what was to be done; whittier
first to go; to whom to appeal. The
whine of voice from the stable
seemed to answer me. l entered the
roofless shanty, and there found the
dark-eyed girl sitting upon rotting
garden roller. and quivering In every
limb. She too was dressed ready to
accompany the man who then lay in
the moat, did not doubt; but at the
first sight of me she started up with
blanched face. and clinglng to me she
cried.-"Take me away. oh. my God.
take me away from it," and rather
incoherently she muttered that she
score of phrases. saw flush of
dawn-light upon her babyish face as
she spoke, and 1t occurred to me
when l was putting the horse to the
dog-cart that she was unmistakably
pretty. and that her customary occu-
patton was not that of housemaid.
But only said to her.
Keep anything you have to say
for the police. am going to fetch
them" And with that l drove off.
and the last saw of my lady showed
her as she sat moaning on the straw.
her hair tumbling down her shoulders.
and her face buried in her hands.
The trial of this woman, and her
acquittal by the jury, are we'll re-
membered in Caversham; nor is the
mystery of .Jabez Ladd's jewels and
their disappearance by any means an
infrequent topic for alehouses. What
became of the precious stones which
Arthur Vernon Ladd, the old mans
nephew, took from the safe on the
night he murdered his uncle, one man
alone knows-and that is myself The
people of the town will tell you that
the moat was dragged and drained
with no results. myself saw the
body Of the murderer-the velvet
coated man of Pangbourne; but al
though at least a couple OF thousand
pounds worth of jewels were missing
from the safe, there was not one of
them about him, or to be found upon
the concrete bottom of the moat into
which he had dropped with the blood
of Ladd fresh upon his hands. In
vain the police searched the girl-her
name was Rachel Peters, she said
and her boxes.
The jewels being undiscoverable,
and Ladd having been murdered to
my knowledge by his nephew, the girl,
Rachel Peters. was, as I have said,
discharged She returned to the old
house for her boxes, and Immediately
disappeared from the knowledge of
the county. Ten months later l saw
her dancing on the stage OF an opera
house in Florida, and she was wearing
five of the seven emeralds which Ladd
had lost! The spectacle seemed SO
amazing to me that sought her out
between the acts, and found her as
full of chic and verve as Partisan
soubrette. Nor did she disguise any
thing from me. telling me everything
over cigarette with a relish and a
sparkle which was astounding to see.
Yes" said she-but give her
story In plain words, for her way of
telling 1t is not to be written down
Il had known Vernon Ladd for years.
l doubt If there was worse man in
Europe; but 1 was frightened of him,
and l entered old Ladd's service at his
wish to help him to steal the jewels.
We got at the emeralds first, because
they were in the small safe; but we
didn't know where the keys of the
other safe were, and we put two sham
emeralds in the case to keep the old
boy quiet while we worked. That
night you came to the house Vernon
Ladd was already inside, concealed
behind the old mans bed; and he
watched you open the great safe and
spread the jewels. The mischief of it
was that Ladd woke up five minutes
too soon, and caught the boy by the
throat-you know what he got for
that, for you saw 1t and you know
how Vernon mistook the door, and
went down in hurry Well, when
you'd gone for the police. l ran round
to the back of the house, and what
should l see but the bag of Jewels
stuck on ledge just under the land
ing window. He'd dropped them as
he fell, and there they were lying SO
plain that one could have seen them
mile off. just ran up and reached
them with my arm, but when l was
in the stable again, and thinking of
hiding them, 1 heard you coming up
the road, and l Slipped the bag in the
first thing handy-it was your own
fishing creel
mo, you never found them, did
you? just because they were hanging
up there plain for every one to see.
When the Judge discharged me at the
court, l went again to the house to
get my box, never thinking to see the
stones; but you'd gone away without
the creel, and 1T was the first thing
I touched lying In the straw of the
ct ho