The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1916-02-18

| ACo, hohoAdOiC, ACtulhCo thC Ahohs
but Day fancied that the impassvity
Of his face was broken by CULVER of
surprise.
"Did Mr.. Burdick appear to be par
ticularly concerned about any matter?
Was he troubled in mindy'
"He had that appearance" returned
Hatsu cautiously, after long thought.
"1n what way?" asked Day sharply.
HE talked much to himself, and he
was usually silent man." said Hatsu
thoughtfully. Zone day. the very day
he passed out into the hands Of the
gods, found him wandering about the
rooms. looking into hole and corner,
and he was muttering words"
what words?"
II could not make for sure, honor
able" returned the man after another
interval of thought, "but it seemed that
he wished to hide something, for he
said over and over that he must con-
ceal 1t, yet it must be found. Hidden
and found, hidden and found those
were his words.
II was alarmed at his behavior, and
AoA OuI AoA ACiP w uOA iCtuhACo
he was stretched on the floor of this
room senseless, and it was later in the
day that he died without word"
g And you found nothing in the room
the thing that he might have tried
to conceal?" questioned Day.
Nothing. excellency," returned Hat
! su.
Day dismissed him, and later in the
evening when all the servants had re-
tired to their quarters John Day made
an exhaustive search Of the house. He
left the library till the last, and It
was long after midnight when he turn.
ed into that dimly lighted room.
he looked around. ...
Where would he conceal large dia-
mond as big as hazel nut if he had
been minded to conceal such a gem?
Under the rugs? Within the vases?
In a niche Of the carving? Within that
grinning idol?
There were score Of places to
choose from.
He began with the rugs, cropping
carefully over every inch Of their sur
Luce lOF tue MISSING stone.
The rugs refused to divulge the Sc
cret.
Then the innumerable curios. The
| grinning idol when shaken gave back
dust of sandalwood and a smell Of
joss sticks. The ivory elephant re-
fused to offer any hiding place.
The Kokuro vase on the mantel-
piece
John Day looked at its graceful out
lines. There was gray surface traced
with delicate cherry boughs and fly
ing birds. The neck was very small
He took 1t down and examined it. The
missing diamond would never have en-
tered that tiny orifice, yet it must be
somewhere.
Suddenly in the silent house there
came sound.
John Day extinguished the light, re-
placed the vase and stepped behind a
carved screen.
Into the darkened room came bent
form holding lighted lantern. The
glow of the light showed the tense
features of-Hatsu, the house boy.
He looked furtively around, and
then his feet led him swiftly to the
mantelpiece, where he took down the
kokuro vase. He glanced over his
shoulder into the dusky corners, turn
ed the vase upside down and shook it
vigorously. Just as he replaced it
there came the sound Of another step
In the room, and there was the evil
countenance of the gardener peering in.
Hatsu turned, saw him, and instant
ly the two men leaped for each others
throat.
They wrestled silently, each one
struggling for death hold. John
Day, standing there behind the screen,
marveled at the deadly struggle.
What was it that each one desired
the Kokuro vase?
He stepped forward, removed the
vase from it's place and slipped it in
bis pocket. Then as the forms remain
ed silent on the floor he glanced once
at them. and. convinced that they
would fight it out between them. he
went upstairs to his own bedroom and
locked every door and window.
| He wrapped the vase in a cloth and
then shattered it against the edge of
bis trunk. When he unwrapped the
broken pieces there fell into his hands
an envelope rolled into a tube. In one
end was something round and hard
The envelope was sealed with Bur-
dicks private seal. and on the outside
It was addressed to the firm Of jewel
ers In New York of which John Day
was now member.
He slipped the sealed envelope into
bis inner pocket, and then, his search
ended. he went to the library to dis
cover that the fighting servants had
vanished. He never saw either OF
them again.
| John Days trip around the world
ended there and then. He took the
next steamer for San Francisco, and
six weeks later he stepped into the
private Office Of his firm with Henry