The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-12-30

1 viii repay, said Hagar softly as
her hands subconsciously closed upon
the Bible she was holding In her lap.
We viii return home, to your home.
my dear child. to Stanley hail." wits
pered Hagar when she regained her
composure. There we will discuss
the plans have long meditated upon
since my recovery and In your alb
sence.
Perhaps this good friend viii go
with us and give as the benefit of his
able counsel" And she turned to the
sympathetic, eccentric English lawyer.
who had accompanied Esther from
the west, and again thanked him
brokenly for his kindness to and his
protection of Esther.
On a prison roof in PARKWAY Cali
fornia Quabba burning his fingers witt
a plumbers furnace, was receiving q
verbal castigation from Cesare, the
Italian contractor
You fine bum rooferr' the con.
tractor was declaring scornfully. "You
no good for nottin'r'
Quabba shrugged mis- shoulders and
replied, sFfa. what you tink you get
for a scab job. Il jeweer?'
All right. tomorrow fire you and
hire the monkey you have. He gotta
da more brains And the contractor
spat in disgust ana threw down the
loop of scaffold ropes he was carrying
and hobbled away.
Quabba raised his voice in sing song
protest, mingling Romany expressions
with his jargon of Italian and broken
English, and he did SO with a purpose
and the purpose bad its effect
at his cell widow below the caves
of the PRISON roof the shaved and
shorn Luke Lowell caught the gypsy
iargon
Luke tapped three times upon the
bar at his window Quabba heard and
understood He tapped three times in
reply upon the gutter
Then, taking a ball of cord from his
breast, Quabba slipped IA hacksaW from
the tools. and. peering over the roof tt
note no watchful eyes observed, BIZ
lowered the Instrument of liberty tt
the cell window
In was drawn within, and ther
Quabba whispered over the gutter edge
in Romany that he had Il rope tied t.
the cord and that the other extremity
of the rope was fastened to the chin
ney.
Further directions as to where Quab
ba would wait for the prisoner with {
change of clothing were whispered il
the gypsy tongue The next night wa!
the time appointed
At the Powell mansion "the las
night is duly celebrated. De Vaux i!
not there, but Durand and Vivian ar,
with Arthur in the library plying hin
with liquor and encouraging him t,
wild and foolish play at cards. Du
rand has the money fer the generous
check that Arthur gave him. But til,
arch crock is not content with this
Congenitally he is diamond thief
and big diamonds. rare diamonds, val
liable diamonds. are his obsession-no
to buy them, not to keep them. but t,
steal them.
In the cabinet in John Powell
room is the diamond from the sky
John Powell whom he has snatche,
from the jaws of death and made
drug tiend of. has given Durand hi
congo. rs physician and associate. blu
ere he goes upon his way Durand. tn
king of diamonds. as the thief worl,
knows him. will have the diamond
Outside. disguised as workman an,
hiding In the shrn5bery, is Durand'
one faithful ally. De Vaux, the jackal
the knave OF clubs of "the pack"
Durand has tempered with Vivian
but he does not trust her. Nor doe
Durand fear Blair. nor even John Pow
ell, the millionaire. once he has tn
diamond In his hands and safe away
Durand has lived too close to then
all not to be aware that there are Gel
tain things in the lives Of the tw
young Virginians that would max
them avoid any too close inquiry int
their records.
Everybody has past-generally
bad one said cynic philosopher
What John Powell had done IN tn
days he was Arthur Stanley Duran
has not known nor cared Whateye
it is. it is enough that once he. Durand
has the great diamond no legal process
/ 10 recover it will be dared.
So. while the card game for hig
stakes without limit is at its height
Durand DEITY takes occasion to sift
sleeping powder into the glass OF job
| Powell whose tongue is thick an
whose tast+ is deadened with his II
diligence with wine
The game breaks up. owing to tn
sleepy ianguor of the host who IS le'
away. and the others retire shortl
afterward But Vivian has befraye,
Durand TO Blair
She knows Durand we'll She know
once be has the diamond 1t will be ia
ken abroad 70 Holland and sold an
discovered
Hiding in her room after midnight
Blair and Vivian hear Durand cree
down the hall. They give him time t
enter and to work In the room of til
drugged and unconscious master of tn
house.
Then. on noiseless feess. the despe
rate Blair steale upon the king Of dia