The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-01-18

A Slump In oeystaI Consolidated.
The week Of my convaiescence was
not eveptful. Evelyn and Mrs. Ian
caster called daily, and the reports
from O'Hara came each morning with
unFarying regularity and equally un.
varying lack Of import. The artist,
after his visit to Yup Sing, had re-
turned TO his Cos Cob hermitage, ac-
companisd by successor to RS for.
mer unfortunate Chicese servant, and
now rarely left his own grounds.
Gravid with suggestion a. his appear.
anoe In Chinatown had seemed at hrst
! soon came to realise that Il might
possibly bsar no more vital signif-
canoe than that altogether common
place proceeding. the quest Of q cook.
And IN ths absence Of any coufrma.
tory evidence to the contrary, and
with the knowledge cleaned from Miss
Clement that Yup Sing. on occasions.
added 70 his regular business Of mer.
chandising that OF an employment
agent. saw no reason to attach an
undue importance to the incident.
Nevertheless rshnquished none OF
my suspicious regarding Murphy. but
continued the detectives surveillance
with fresh Injunction to vigilance.
And did not apologize to Yup Sing.
Miss Clement, to whom I believe I
owe my life, visited me at my request.
How whelmed her with my gratitude
IN M ynors m aforiaS than bou sbo AN
deavored to make hight Of her service
to me. declaring that such offices we're
a part Of her days work in her chosen
field, and that her days work was her
passion. And yet II was this part Of
our interview which gave me my
strongest insight into her exceptional.
ly worthy character. Absolutely un-
selfish. she 1oyed in a life that even a
religious fanatic might we'll have
quailed before; finding flowers In
muck heaps and Jewels amid tinsel.
In five minutes, too. l glimpsed her
abounding magnetism. the moving
agent in that rare efficiency which was
part and parcel OF her. Later, l learned
OF the weight Of her influence among
the dwellers In the Chinese colony;
not from any direct narrative Of what
she had accomplished-for she was
chary Of speaking of herself-but by
deduction, purely. Moreover, my
watch, few trinkets and a little
money. taken from me that night In
Doyers street, had all been returned
through Miss Clements good Offices;
and II, thus far. she had afforded US
no real clew In our absorbing exi.
gency, felt that ultimately her knowl.
edge. coupled with her resourceful-
ness, would prove to US Of unbounded d
value. And, as events shaped them.
selves, / was not wrong.
1t was now nearly four weeks since
Cameron's disappearance, and fear
that he had met death in some fiend-
ish form at the hands Of his abductors
had come TO be with me very nearly
an obsession. The care / exercised in
hiding my real state Of mind from
Evelyn could not well be exaggerated.
When I appeared to her most hopeful
I was actually most despairins. With
Miss Clement, however, l haG no rea-
son to dissemble. With all frankness
| told her OF my despair; and when,
instead Of trying to comfort me with
empty words OF encouragement she
agreed with me that the chances of
our ever seeing Cameron again We're
at minimum, I liked her the better
for being straightforward.
81 sometimes feel" | said TO her
making full confession. that We made
a terrible mistake In not at once noti.
flying the authorities. Even now | am
inclined 10 lay the matter before them
Anything would be better than uncer
tainty. A few arrests and the third
degree might work wonders"
Where would you start?" she asked
In blunt. logical way that reminded
me or Eyelyn's faculty OF going to the
root OF things. you see, you know SC
little. The story about tho portrait
and the mirror. the police would re-
gard as more amusing than convinc
ing. And besides. you haven't any
proof Yup Sing. you tell me, has the
only original letter, and by this time
he may have lost II or have forgotten
that he ever had It. If you had seen
as much OF the Chinese as | have, you
would appreciate how willy they are
My belief is that the police would con
clude that Mr.. Cameron fell overheard
from his yacht and was drowned. In
deed 1t would be fortunate II they die
not take the view that he jumped
overheard and committed suicide. Or
worse still. IL would not be beyond
them. Mr. Clyde, to charge that yol