The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-06-04

c,lmstances direct u.s." /
"Perfect. Retteredge. as far as it )
goes" says Mr.. Franklin. But be-
tween this and the birthday what's to !
be done with the diamond?'
What our father did with it, to be
sir" l answered. "Your father
put it in the safe keeping of a bank
in London. You put it in the safe keep
ing of the bank at Frizinghall.' Fri
Zinghall was our nearest town, and the
Bank of England wasn't safer than
the bank there. eff l were o sir" l
added. II would ride straight away
with it to Frizinghall before the ladies
come back"
The prospect of doing something
and. what is MORE, of doing that some
thing on a horse-brought Mr.. Franklin
up like lightning from the fiat of his
back. He sprang to his feet and pulled
me up without ceremony on to mine.
''Betteredge, you are worth your weight
in gold,'' he said. Come along and
saddle the best horse in the stables di-
rectly:"
The afternoon wore on, and my lady
and Miss Rachel came back. Needless
to say how astonished they were when
they heard that Mr.. Franklin Blake
had arrived and had gone off again on
horseback. I said Mr.. Franklin's ar
rival by the early train was entirely
attributable to one Of Mr.. Franklin's
freaks. Being asked upon that wheth-
err his galloping off again on horseback
was another Of Mr.. Franklin's freaks,
1 said, Eyes. it was" and slipped out
Of it think very cleverly-in that
way.
The evening came, and the dressing
bell for dinner rang before Mr.. Frank
lin returned from ~Frizinghall. I took
his hot water up to his room myself,
expecting to heal after this extraordi-
nary delay that something had hap
pened. To my great disappointment
nothing had happened. He had not
met with the Indians either going or
returning. He had deposited the moon
stone in the bank, describing it merely
as a valuable Of great price, and he
had got the receipt for it safe in his
pocket. I went downstairs feeling that
this was rather a fiat ending after all
our excitement about the diamond ear
lier in the day.
How the meeting between Mr.. Frank
lin and his cousin went off is more than
l can tell you.
Toward midnight 1 went round the
house to lock up. accompanied by my
second in command. Samuel. the foot
man, as usual. When all doors were
made fast, except the side door that
opened on the terrace, l sent Samuel
to bed and stepped out for a breath OF
fresh air before I, too, went to bed in
, my turn.
| As the house stood, the terrace side
was the dark side, but the broat
j, moonlight showed fair on the grave
i walk that ran along the neXt side tt
the terrace. Looking this way afte1
t looking up at the sky, I saw the shad
ow of a person in the moonlight
q thrown forward from behind the cor
: ner of the house.
: Before I could steal suddenly rount
: the corner. as ] had proposed, I heart
n lighter feet thar mine-and more thai
one pair of them. as | thOught-re
treating in a hurry. By the time
| had got to the corner the ~trespassers
whoever they We're. had run into thu
s%hrubbery at the off side Of the wall
and were hidden from sight among thu
thick trees and bushes in that part o
the grounds. From the shrubbery the.
/ could easily make their way over ou
fence into the road. If l had been for
ty years younger 1 might have had
chance of catching them before the,
got clear Of our premises. AS it was
went back to set a-going a younge
pair of legs than mine. Without dis
turbing anybody Samuel and 1 got
couple of guns and went all round tn
house and through the shrubbery
Having made sure that no person
/ were lurking about anywhere in on
a grounds, we turned back. Passin
! over the walk where I had seer til
shadow. ! now noticed for the frs
time a little bright object lying on tn
clean gravel under the light of tn
moon. Picking the object up, l Disco
cred that it was a small bottle contain
q ing a thick. sweet smelling liquor 8
black as ink.
On the next morning. the morning {
the 26th. I showed Mr.. Franklin tn
y article of %jugglcry and told him VIII;
have already told you. His opinic
was not only that the Indians ha
been lurking about after the damon
but also that they We're actually foe
ish enough to believe in their oW
matchmaking thereby the making
signs on a boys head and the pouri1
X of ink into Il boys hand and then e
ire Decting him to see persons and thin!
beyond the reach of human vision.
,o our country as we'll as in the east, NJ
- Franklin informed me, there are pc
a. pie who practice this curious hocr
~ pocus. without the ink. however, a
90 who call it by a French NAME, signit