The evening world., 1912-09-09
The Diamonds
By J. S. Fletcher
>rl Romance OF Hoard OF Missing Jespels /
q" and the Mystery Which FolIoued Them |


bound box lying In the dsalsr's wtnAew,
but much had happened during ~
time, and now the box lay under ~
arm carefully hidden beneath ne ~
coat-and that reminded HIM, he @0N
rid himself OF II.
The boz was q link bSbweSn - ga
Ger tain svenes OF whioh he haA - w1gh
to think, now that they were over end
done with. and Il must BE- destroynl
He must get rid OF Il at once.
These thoughts fitted ghost-nbs
drew the pint Of ale whioh the stAman
had ordered. A. It vas set down before
him In . pewter measure Lindsay be-
cLn,e conscious OF . terrible thirst He
hftsd the mug and poured half its con-
tents down his throat 1t one gulp. He
wondered how he had found words
wherein to aAk for the als-.so dry aad
parchsd did his tongue and mouth sssm
to him
He nnishsd the ale snd felt better.
and he wss half minded to call for en-
ether pint but reelected that he had
work to DO and had best keep Ms head
cool He might have another pint Of
als-two. perhapA or even thrse-or
something stronger than ale even. whom
he had dashed bic work; but the wFk
he had to DO mus b done before afAr-
thing elsa He most make himself sae.
Lindsay wsn& out Of the tavern 81
elutehins the brAss-bound bog under
his coat. He wa In . low part Of tho
town. and he went forward plunginS
still Deeper into obscure neoks and
corners. He wanted 10 ~ down to
the water side. sonsswhsrs o. aAywhsrs,
II seemed 70 him that when - ~,
once free Of that . great weight wo. q
be uftsd on his mind. He saiA 10 hin,
self that he must and some quiet cosn,r
wherein to prepare the th1ne-ho mus
have stones whsrSwttA - Vslght NJ
would never DO for the boz 70 hoat
away. only TO b picksd ~ pssAAD BY
some suspicious hoars ssew - -
Hamoass Or handed eysr 70 - Sso1bA
He must sink it-dssH dseA Wh6s0 -
aye would Sc n moro
came 70 . pot su@aso<1y su1ea ~, ~
purpose. but 81 lest he 1Uond hl1DsSe
In the angle Of . higA wan - 1pss
from observation. h hAA pe@ho0 no
two or three stones - ~ vsns a1uo6.
ana these he packed into The ~ voap
no had drawn II from his eeat y DO
ing % his Fingers touohed tAo hn1pp~
II was stiii wet ana stipkH - -
shfvsrsd 81 the fed Of n.
He otossd the bon hWses0S -
wound n abous vash . pises g 669e
pocket Then he rsplsssA - 80 =.
meath his cost and wsat teeUGpo
asain. always choosing ~ lu1soqN
ways. A. me night wOes toWuGd -
niGht the folk In the stresee 0s0v -
and less IN numbsre. ana 81 ~ =
say found himself crossing alleyO -
courts whsrsin only . faint ngAe 49,
and there showed aay a0n q huDon
life. He Wa nearing ne WAAss 0oW.
and - the hrst eleam q d eau6hs ~
~ shroush an opsnins IN The Aeesea
though he feared that some T0o ~
doxGed his footsteps.
There was . patch Of faint f0At ~
ana there In the streets. lying IN ~
angular wedges beneath the res DonueA
and II seemed to him once that ~ ~
the nsure OF Lal Dass gliding s1eals41ly
from one to the other. He paussl end
looked again. and his heart beat Assosly
against his breast. He strainsd his
eyes.
Surely that was Q figure sesaefns
had revived and was stalking him 10
his death? Those Hindus had mayvel-
Gus powers he had heard folks say, and
II might be-but there he cursed him
self for fool. remembering how
straight and true tho knife had 9one
home, and how motionless Lal Dass
had lain across the table.
At length he reached the place ne
had kept In his minds eye ever since
he stepped out OF the tavern-a QUIET
pool In the angle made by q pier which
stretches out into the Hamoaxe. There
was no one about. and his preparations
were quickly made. He had left one
end Of the coil OF twine loose. and he
let Il run Eighty through HIS nnssrs a.
the brass-bound box sank into tho black
water
A sudden fear lest the string should
be too long and remain floating on
the surface seized him, but he breAtfed
Sigh OF relief on seeing the end cur
and twist and then disappear in the
wake OF the box. He stood erect at the
waters side; II seemed 20 aim that now
nothing could touch him. But enco
mere that terrible thirst was hot and
dry In his throat. and his tongue craved
for drink.
Then he remembered that he had
heard the clocks strike eleven as he
walked along, and cursed his fate that
II was now too late 70 obtain more
liquor For that he must wait until
morning.
He was now In the neighSorhood OF
Ford, ana he began 20 wonder how and
where he was TO pnss the night. Rack
20 the 'Oi ling which had sheltered him
the past few days he dared not go-lt
was his orly hope now 10 say farewell
to Plymouth forever. but where IAs
he to go7
Cro IA rontsuusAN