The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-10-12
CHAPTER VI.

1 Barnes.
 In any other colony but a British ! one. Cairns could never have found | what he did. But there, while gov 1 ernme ment representatives come and go. | those of the first degree, their neces- l sary assistants of the first order per- I sist until of they are superannuated mines of information and keepers ot 1 dusty records.
 | Good luck was with him. The pep 1 pery first aid to national and com 1 mercial affairs attached to His British | N1ajesty's dignifed, somewhat pom l pous nan-in-charge was on the point l of sailing home after twenty-eight l years of broiIing in the tropics, an1a- 1 ble over his pension and certain sub | dignities conferred upon him. On
 him Cairns lavished all his arts, and | Gideon Fairweather, now Sir Gideon, 1 unbent his official dignity. lured | somewhat by Lady Fairweather. to l whom Cairns paid successful aduIa- | tion and respect.
 ''Forsythe? Forsythe! I remem- Der the man. An American. Would not have come under my nor1ce save for official duties. Found this mar velous orchid, eh? Not much in my line. SenseIess sort of waste of money. No practical use, sir. Rup- Der men and hardwood men, now. Greenheart hunters, for example. There's your real march of events. pioneers of coming civilization. But the man found diamonds also. I re- member that well. Quite a bed he discovered, and paid us the usual revenues. An, yes. A man of iron tier type, som mewhat-er-unvene eered at that time. Doubtlesshis wealth polished him, brightened his face like, the diam onds-eh, what?'
 "A rough diamond himself, Sir Cid eon?'' Cairns suggested.
 'tExa ctly, sir. Y ou take my point Egad, yes. A rough diamond. You know hin?''
 'rI did. He Is dead now"
 '.Ah, yes. you told me that. Now to get those records for you. I'll have a secretary at them tomorrow and send them with him to your hote1.''
 The secretary duly arrived, a dried up specimen of never too vigorous manhood. But Cairns found that a glass or two of old Madeira could make him talk.
 Forsythe had come out of the jun gle with the orchid had registered his grave1s and, later, had returned to the interior for their development. The mine had yielded for ten years and then Forsythe disappeared from British Guinea entirely. But he had paid the royal revenues promptly and he was in good standing.
 There was some talk of a man named Barnes" said the secretary, slipping his third glass of wine. Cairns almost jumped. He remembered the syllable hurled from Forsythe's death contracting lips. Barnes-not barns! And he had looked for outhouses when. all the time, a votal clue was in front of him.
 s'Who was Barnes ?" he asked.
 Another orchid hunter. FNbint of fact. he was also after that Butterfly Orchid. Went into the jungle ahead of Forsythe and never came out again. Fever got him, I suppose. Then, some six years ago there came a man named Hardin. an American, claiming to be a friend or Barnes, who made a nuisance out of himself. He was a chemist-druggist- called it. He went to your consul and he took up the affair with Sir/ Gideon. It was a crazy cock-and-bu matter"
 What did Hardin look Iike?'' ask ed Cairns.
 t'Short. bandyIegged. bald, peppery, a most aggressive person. Said he was a partner of Barnes, had grup- staked him, was the way he put it. He was also personal friend of this Barnes, seemed to be under some big obligation to him. The only tangible bit of his story was a letter he had alleged to- have been written by Barnes, that stated that Barnes nac found diamonds and they would all be rich men.
 ''Now, Hardin was obsessed with the idea that Forsythe had murdered Barnes and taken away both the orchid and the diamonds Fanatic on the thing. He got your consul. then a MT. Se1wyn, half to believe the thing, and then he disappeared in the interior Game back after six years, burned black, thin as dried herring, eaten up with fever.
 He brought a specimen or the orchid back with him and he raveo about it being the living blood and spirit of Barnes. Completely or his head. Oh. completely! And he tried to convince Mir. Selwyn that he had proof of this murder charge He really ought to have been placed in an asylum, but it was not our affair, and Selwyn considered him harm less.''
 What were these proofs?''
 The chap didn't have any. Even Selwyn. who knows little Of the In dian tribes. admitted that to Sir Cid con- All he had was a. lot of gabbIe from two or three decrepit Akawai Indians not to be credited. Naturai