The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1915-06-05

you have said your say. Better
edge" he remarked. It's my turn
now"
Our young gentleman's first words
Informed me that his discoveries con-
corning the wicked colonel and the dia-
had paid before he came to us to his
fathers lawyer at Hampstead. A
chance word dropped by Mr.. Franklin
when the two were alone one day att
err dinner revealed that he had been
charged by his father with n birth
day present to be taken to Miss Rachel.
One thing led to another. and 1t ended
in the lawyer mentioning what the
present really was and how the friend
ly connection between the late colonel
and Mr.. Blake. Sr.. had taken its rise.
The facts here are really so extraor-
binary that | doubt IL l can trust my
own language to do justice to them.
l prefer trying to report Mr.. Frank
Inns discoveries as nearly as may be
in Mr.. Franklin's own words.
You remember the time. Better
edge he said. when my father was
trying to prove his title to that un-
lucky dukedom? Well. that was also
the time when my uncle Herncastle
returned from India. My father dis
covered that his brother-in-law was In
possession of certain papers which
were likely to be of service to him In
his lawsuit. He called on the colonel
on pretense of welcoming him back TO
England. The colonel was not to be
deluded In that way. You want some
thing he said, or you would never
have compromised your reputation by
calling on me- My father saw the n
chance for him was to show his hand.
He admitted at once that he wanted
the papers. The colonel asked for a
day to consider his answer. His an
swer came In the shape of a most ex
traordinary letter, which my friend the
lawyer showed me. The colonel began
by saying that he wanted something OF
my father and that he begged to pro-
pose an exchange of friendly services
between them. The fortune Of war
that was the expression he used-had
placed him In possession Of one OF the
largest diamonds In the world. and he
had reason to believe that neither he
nor his precious jewel was safe in any
house In any quarter of the globe
which they occupied together. Under
these alarming circumstances he had
determined to place his diamond in the
keeping of another person. Tha per-
sen was not expected to run any risk.
He might deposit the precious stone
in any place especially guarded and
set apart-like a bankers or jewelers.
strong room-for the safe custody of
valuables of high price. His main per-
sonal responsibility in the matter was
to be of the passive kind. He was to
undertake, either by himself or by a
trustworthy representative, to receive
at a prearranged address on certain
prearranged days in every year a note
from the colonel simply stating the
fact that he was a living man at that
date. In the event Of the date passing
over without the note being received
the ~colonel's silence might be taken as
a sure token of the colonel's death by
murder. In that case, and in no other,
certain sealed instructions relating to
the disposal of the diamond and de-
posted with it were to be opened and
followed implicitly. If my father chose
to accept this strange charge the colo
nel's papers were at his disposal in
return. That was the letter"
"My father" he said. "got the papers
he wanted. and eve saw his brother
in-law again, from that time. Year
after year. on the prearranged days,
the prearranged letter came from the
colonel and was opened by the lawyer.
| have seer the letters in a heap, all
of them written in the same brief.
businesslike form of words: 'Sir-This
is to certify that l am still a living
man. Let the diamond be. John Hern-
castle That was all he ever wrote,
and that came regularly to the day,
until some six or eight months since,
when the form of the letter varied for
the first time. 1t ran now: 'Sir-They
tell me l I'm dying. Come to me and
help me to make my will The lawyer
went and found him in the little subur-
ban villa. surrounded by its own
grounds. where he had lived alone ever
since he had left India. He bequeathed
the moonstone as a birthday present to
his niece on condition that my father
would act as executor. My father at
first refused to act. On second thought,
however, he gave way, partly because
he was assured that the excutorship
would involve him in no trouble; partly
because the lawyer suggested, In Ra-
chefs interest, that the diamond might
be worth something after all.
"You have heard about the ~coloners
will; now you must hear what happen
ed after the colonel's death. 1t was
formally necessary to have the dia-
mond valued, before the will could be
proved. All the jewellers consulted at