The Springfield herald., 1912-05-17
THE TREASURE
By MAX PEMBERTON
Copyright. by W. G. Chapman.l
Of White Creek


had danced with her for the first time
in the ballroom of the magnificent
house her father had rented in Gros-
her coming of age; and agreed with
the men that she was beyond criti-
cism. an exquisite vision of dark and
matured girlhood. SO incomparably fas-
cinating that you forget in her COM
pany some of her bluntness in speech,
and set down the voluptuousness of
her glance and mien to the southern
luxuriance amidst which she had been
reared, and to those "other" notions
which prevail in Chill. the land of
fleeting republics.
Some part of this perhaps unneces-
sary adulation may have been due to
the fact that / had helped in the
production of her perfect picture on
the night of which am speaking. The
commercial element will intrude at
such times; and l could not help but
see that she wore at least eight hun
dred pounds worth of my jewels. Had
the value of them been double, it
would have been the same to me, for
of her fathers stability had then no
doubt. He had been received and
made much of in the highest places,
accorded the chief seats at the feasts;
entrusted-as the old ladies told you
with the most important mission by
government; and share in the West
ern Hill diamond mine at South Afri-
ca was not the least substantial factor
in the sum of his income. Any and
20 io1, l,n tN~ II fnV
I had let him have readily, being as
sured by an important parsonage at
the embassy that his credit was un-
questionable.
At the end of the dance-the next
being some newfangled barn Dance"
wherein men scarce put their hands
upon their partners-she said that she
would sit in the conservatory and eat
ices; and for the first time during the
long evening found myself able to
talk easily with her.
"Well,'' she said, when we had COM
posed ourselves behind huge fern.
and had made successful attack upon
the meringues glaces. well. this is
about splendid. What do you think
of the crystals now I've got them on"
WHY tuty re " Dc cHNicu III SuSh
a setting"
You're the fourth man that has
said the same tonight" she exclaimed,
putting her glass down and tugging at
her glove. II think that Britishers
learn their compliments out of copy
books: they're all presents for good
girls Let's see if you're cleverer at
getting a glove on than at making
pretty speeches"
The arm that she held out was
gloriously white; and as every man
knows, the operation of pulling on the
glove of pretty girl is apt to be
prolonged There are fingers to fit
and little thumb to stroke daintily;
while the grip upon the more substan-
tial part of the forearm will bear rep
etition so long as time serves.
must have occupied myself at least
five minutes with her buttons, she
finding it necessary to press close to
me when l did SO; and the task was
none the less pleasant when her rich
brown hair touched my face, and her
dress rustled with her long-drawn
breathing. How long the process
would have lasted, or what 1 should
have said foolishly in the end, / do
not know; but of sudden she drew
her arm away and exclaimed
ooh, I'D quite forgotten; l wanted
to ask you about the bull's-eye.'
This was her description, l may
mention without anger, of the famous
White Creek Diamond, which, as all
London knows, have had in my pos
session for the last two years. Her
father, who was reputed to have some
commission to buy it for a Persian,
was then negotiating with me for its
purchase for the sum of one hundred
and thirty thousand pounds. He wait
ed only, he said, for the coming of his
partner from Valparaiso, to complete
the transaction.
what do you know about the bulls
eyer
"That you're trying to sell it to my
father" she replied, "and that he
won't promise to give it to me-"
Have you asked him, them"
Have l asked him-why, look at
him; isn't he ten years older since
he met you in Bond stret?"
He certainly seems to have some
thing on his mind" said l.
That's me; he's got me on his
mind" she remarked flippantly; but
/ wish he'd buy the bull's-eye, and give
it to me for wedding present"
"Oh, you're engaged 1 ventured
dolefully; you never told me that"
Didn't II" she answered. "well, of
course am, and here's my partner"
She went away on another mans
arm; but she left to me vision of
dark eyes and ivory white flesh; and
her breath still seemed to blow balm
lily upon my forehead. Her partner
was a young man just down from Ok
ford, they told me; seemingly sim
pie youth, to whom the whole sentence
in conversation was as much mys-
terry as the binomial theorem; but he
danced rather well, and / doubt not
that she suffered him for that.
watched her through the waltz, and