The Washington times., 1912-08-20

as IL to fnd out what he had seen.
ITS naught," he said. Il thought L
saw snake among the rocks there.
AS l was saying about the public
A voice came from the slope below,
interrupting him:
.Hollins! Lloyd! Are you there2'
The two warders rose to their feet,
put aside their pipes. and looked over
officer, a military looking man of keen,
determined face, had ridden his horse
up to the verge of the rocks in advance
of the other warders on horseback, and
above him, who touched their caps as
they responded to his summons.
Well?', he said, questioningly.
He's dead, SIR answered the big
warder. Lloyd and me fired at him
We both hit him-head and heart, SIR"
The man on horseback took his mus
tache between his teeth and bit II for
minute or two as IL debating some ques-
ton within his own mind. He looked
up again.
well, you'll have to fetch him down
from those rocks, he said. ''Hollins,
you go over to that farm there and get
a cart or something of the sort and
bring 1t across the moor as near THIS
point as you can. Lloyd. you stay here
with the body till the others come up,
and then have 1t carried down"
Hollins raised his hands in obedience
to orders but he swore under his breath
as he turned away to pick up his rifle.
Damned nuisance to go trampns
across to yon farm" he muttered to
Lloyd. why couldn't he send one Of
the mounted men?"
He swore again as he lurched down
the rocks, and he turned an anxious
glance on Lloyd as he left him, Lloyd,
unheeding ", sat down again near the
body, relighted his pipe, and began to
smoke peacefully. Hollins' face cleared; |;
he went rapidly away in the direction OF
the farmstead his superior had pointed
out
The officer dismounted. put hts arm
through his horses bride, and, produc-
ing cigar care, selected a cigar and
began to smoke. Everything was very
still In the hot summer air; no sound
broke the silence save the humming of
heather. Lloyd, putting away at his
pipe, became oppressed by this silence
The rigidity of the man whom he
mad Killed ten minutes before grew dis
tasteful to him-he half wished that
the limbs, already stiffened In death,
could jerk into life again. He got on
his feet and looked about him; his
superior had seated himself on a slab
or rock and was calmly smoking while
he allowed his horse to nlbble at the
spots of pasturage which cropped up
mere and there among the heather
Holiins was striding along at a quick
rate toward the farm; the other ward
ers We're advancing leisurely upon the
center point.
Lloyd at last heard their voices; the
sound was grateful to him. The feel
ing OF oppression passed off: he sat
GOWN again, an dthis time. by sheer
Inns had sat while they talked. And
happening to look around him, he
suddenly saw something that made him
utter quick cry Of astonishment and
smother 1t In his own throat
Lioyds eyes had fallen on sometbinp
tnat shone and glittered in a deep fis.
sure or the rocks on which he sat. He
lnousht at first that the things he saw
were drops of molten fire that had
fallen by some mysterious chance upon
the cool green of the rocks.
II was fun minute before he realized
snat ne was staring at a necklace of
diamonds. the brilliancy and size of
which suggested even to his untutored
mind the notion of vast wealth. He
looked and looked again. and his head
swan with the joy Of the discovery
ana OF the possibilities that lay behind
His eyes grew accustomed to the
darkness of the assure, and he real
lzed exactly what he saw The thing
was massive necklace of diamonds,
set In delicate gold network. and it
nad caught on the front of a clump of
fern that grew out of the rock and
hung dangling from It,
;. LLOYD made no attempt to reach It;
II hung at least six feet below his
arm; IL would be, necessary to get
something with a hook at the end If
the necklace was to be recovered.
Suddenly Lloyd burst into a hearty
mt OF cursSpg. He had remembered
holllns' sudden exclamation - made
when he was sitting in that very spot
and looking into that very assure. The
forkshireman. then, had seen the dia-
monds and would doubtless lay claim
to having found them.
very well; then it would have to be
a nf mo hoI
Lloyd cursed his ill-luck fervently un-
der his breath. He had already con-
ceived plan by which he could have
secured the diamonds for his own par
Off next day, and had already resolved
to spend 1t in a fishing expedition.
Nothing would have been easier than
to attach a hook to his fishing rod
and draw up the diamonds from their
hiding place. But he was certain that
Hollins already knew of them, and fore
saw that Hollins would want his share.
He wished he could secure the prize
before Hollins came back, and felt
hurriedly in his pocket for a string.
thinking that he might improvise a
hook out of a twig of heather But
he had nothing that he could make use
Of and so he sat there, gloating over
the diamonds and cursing his bad luck
good luck the next.
After all. II was a rare find: he was
certain that the stones were genuine
and must therefore be OF immense
| value. If he could have handled them
first. he would have defended the title
to them with his life: IL they were to
be shared. he would see to it that he
had his full half.
He suddenly leaped to his feet, i'm
PEELED to action by fear that filled
his heart with fierce resentment The
other warders were approaching: ii
might be that they would peep and
| peer about and discover the diamonds.
| That was not to be thought Off he
could not have the whole of the apple
himself he could take good care that
| only one other mouth should bite at
| II.
He went over to the side of the
plateau farthest from that on which
| his superior sat and tore up armfuls
| of heather and bracken. Coming back
| to the assure. he filled up its mouth
with the stuff thus collected and thus
screened the diamonds from sight.
| Over the heather and the bracken he
| placed a large stone, so that no one
| could now look into the aperture where
| in the treasure lay concealed.
Lloyd stood up and gazed around
| him. His fellow-warders had come up.
on foot or on horseback, and were
| gathered about their superior. Hol-
| Inns was coming back from the farm,
! out of the gates of which at that mo-
ment a boy drove a small cart, drawn
| nv a mOOreland pOney, HOllins was