The Washington times., 1912-08-22
THE TIMES DAILY SERIAL STORY
THE DIAMONDS,
Copyright. 1872 Frank A. Munsey Co,

By J. S. FLETCHER

into the fissure at it's widest part,
steadying the fall until he could reach
no farther.
Suddenly he released his grasp. The
beneath the frond Of fern and disap-
peared In the blackness far beneath.
Hollins got down on his hands and
knees and looked carefully into the
possible point Of view. endeavoring to
decide II II were by any means likely
mat searchers could see anything OF
the dead man.
down into 1t. looking into II from slant
and corners; he set fire to a bundle OF
dry heather. and, using 1t as a torch,
held II down into the assure as far as
he could. Even that did not satisfy
him. He made second torch. attached
the line of string to 1t, set the torch on
blaze and lowered 1t down to the full
length of the line. But he saw nothing
In the depth below and he let the line
slip from his fingers as a useless thing.
He rose from his hands and knees
and looked around him. Two traces OF
his crime met his anxiouslv searching
eyes. Leaning against rock, In COM
pany with his own, was Lloyd's rifle;
He walked over, seized it and dropped
It into the fissure after the body, TAX.
ing the same precaution that IT could
not be seen from above. Then he turn.
ed and looked at the other evidence of
violence, and his face puckered into
a frown.
That, he was saying to himself
somewhere far back In his inner self,
could not be allowed to remain: Blood
found where such matters were not
likely to be found in the ordinary
course of events, would lead to an in
vesugation which might have unpleas-
pientifuily evident on the nat stone
against which Lloyd's life had been
crushed out and on the stone which had
crushed 1t out and on the edge Of the
grave into which his body had been
dropped.
Hollins looked at them with curl
Gus disgust-his old soldier instinct
was all for cleanliness and order, and
mess of things. But since Lloyd was
dead and could not make the place
tidy, there was naught for 1t but that
he must make 1t tidy himself.
thought of Vassalli He walked to the
spot where the convict had fallen
dead. Yes. just as he had expected,
there was blood there, too. He unused
over the matter for moment or two.
II search was made for Lloyd-as there
certainly would be-that place would
be visited, since he had last been seen
there. Would the searchers take the
blood on the rocks for, Vassallrs or
would they remember that the convict
Vassallis blood, dry enough in the
sun by that time, made a little pool on
the ground where his body had lain;
soon there would be nothing but mere
discoloration of the surface. But on
the rocks there was more than blood.
He went back to the rocks resolved
to take no risk. He would have to clean
up. He set his mind to work in the
effort to remember whether he had no.
ticed water anywhere in the neighbor-
hood of the plateau, but could not think
of stream or spring or even standing
pool. For a moment he stood irreso-
lutte through helplessness.
The old-soldier instinct reasserted IT.
self he sat down, took off his boots,
divested himself Of his stockings and
put his boots on again. He cursed
fioorcloth of the rolled-up stockings and
set to work on his task.
When it was over and had been made
as good a Job as possible under the
ings into the fissure and Strengthened
his back. A further notion came to
him as he inspected the rock, and he
searched about until he found likely
stone wherewith the strained surface
might be scrubbed.
And orle more he went down on his
hands and knees and worked thorough
ly and hard. and when he threw the
stone away at last he was satisfied An
hour of sunlight-better still, a night of
dew and a sunshiny morning to follow.
and no one would know that a mans
brains had been split on the spot at
which Holllns looked with jealous eyes.
There was now nothing more to be
done, and with his realization of the
fact that his task was successfully COM
pleted, ITollins also arrived at some
thing like a return to sanity or an un-
derstanding of his actual position IL
the world.
He had murdered fellow-being and
forfeited the right to live in conse-
quence; mis- first care, then, must be
20 secure his own safety. AS at the be-
ginning OF matters he had inspected his
immediate surroundings. so at the end
Of them he again examined the country
around him. It was as lonely and de-
certed as ever so far as he could see,
and he determined to get away from 1t
as quickly as possible.
A Continuation of This Story VIII