Year: 1875

Of long ago. Poor Jane. cannot drive
her wan tace and despairing, sunken eyes
from my memory. 1t affected me deeply
to notice her poor, quiet attempts to let
me Know that she had seen better days
A lew little old-fashioned bits of china
ware that bad once been the pride of her
glrllsh heart occupied place ON the rude
bare table for the first time, likely, in
many months, and while at supper de-
tected her gazing at me with her sorrow
ful eyes with an expression that an earth
wearled Christian might wear at holding
q messenger from heaven.


After supper the family, which, besides
my host and hostess. consisted of two
stout boys, gathered in front of the log
fire, and during the conversation that en-
sued, l asked ii stranger Describing the
appearance Of DeFonvile) had ever passed
that way.


You say he was very handsome, had
slightly curling dark hair?n asked my
continued he, addressing his wife, "didn't
the man that was murdered and robbed
out here on the night of the I'd of April,
answer to that description (the I'd OF
April the very night Of my startling
dream y Does it," | asked, excitedly !;
did the murdered man have beautiful dark
eyes and curling hair?''


The woman, awed by my manner, tim
idly answered, YES" and both boys
chornsed, Yes, sir-he did !"


Calming myself as much as possible. |
begged my host to describe the manner of
the strangers death


1T was Just after nightfall' he com
|, ,;,,b,o
when we heard the report of Il rifle but a
short distance of, in the woods and soon
after the tramp Of two or more horses
passing the house on a mad gallop We
thought nothing of the occurrence at the
time, but next morning my boys dis
covered the dead body Of a stranger
stretched on the ground, not two hundred
yards away. He had evidently been robbed,
as there was nothing on his person to
identity hiu-not paper nor a trinket by
which he might be recognized by friends
after decomposition set IN -'


You forget the stone, father prompt
ed one Of the boys. in a low tone


Nv ell. yes" said the old man, Il for
got to tell you, that, tightly clutched in
the strangers right hand, we found a
small stone on which he had scratched
some meaningless words -'


.'Have you that one?-tell me, for
Gods sake, you haven exclaimed,
springing from my chair-' produce it and
you shall be fifty dollars richer in the
morning than you are at the present."


The old gentleman arose, and, lighting
a candle, with hands trembling with the
excitement my unusual manner and gen
erouS offer had thrown him in, left the
room. He soon returned, and placed in
my hand the stone you see before you.


Here, then, was the explanation of my
singular dream and the elimination of my
worst fears. That the characters on the
stone had been traced there by DeFonville
was proved by the writing on the other
side-now too dim to be legible-'' Send
this to Arthur Han" At that point it
was very evident the hand Of death had
fallen upon him and abruptly terminated
his agOniZing effort to convey to an old
friend some intelligence that he imagined
would lead to the detection Of his assassin
and the recovery OF the mysterious dia-
mond which, of course, had been stolen
from him. together with other valuables
which he likely had upon his person.
Bed time found be bent over that singu-
lar inscription, eagerly endeavoring TO
tathom its meaning. Not till the old gen
tleman handed me whole candle and adj
vised me to retire and take the rest he ielt
sure | stood in need off, did | take my
/ eyes from it for moment. And after
retired to the attic, where my meek
hostess had prepared me III excellent bed,
| the candle burned low in the socket before
| | laid aside the uusolved enigma and went
to bed.


After breakfast, next morning, true to
my promise | offered my host a ty-dollar
note. He persistently refused to take it at
first, but when | explained to him that
it was my intention to resurrect my
friends body from the grave into which
he and his sons had laid it, and remove it
to the place Of my nativity, and that l
should require his assistance, he reluctant
ly accepted ii, promising to aid me to the
extent Of his humble capacity


The old man and mis- sons accompanied
me to the spot where they had deposited
the remains of my friend He had beer
buried as he had fallen. without coffin OF
ceremony. The body was in rare state
of preservation, This was due to the fact
that at the time Of his death he had beer
in excellent health, and the almost con.
stant exercise his wild life in the wood
had subjected him to, had divested hi.
frame OF all superhuous flesh The weather
was yet quite cool, and had no doubt
that should experience very little diff
Guilty in removing him to my native city
With the aid Of the boys who possessed :
lew rough carpenter tools. | constructed
an air-tight box and deposited the body
\, l,yrf | -
veyed to the nearest settlement. The ole
gentleman accompanied me on my journey
willingly, and beguiled the weary journey
with a graphic account of his experience
in his wildwood home Arriving at oul
journeys end, pressed more money upol
my companion, and consigning to hi
charge some comforts tor Jane | bad,
the old man a tender farewell.


At the settlement | secured the services
of an undertaken who placed DeFonvile'
BODY in condition for an extended Journey
After the loss of only a day and half,
was on my way home. Reaching there,
caused the corpse to be inferred will
Christian ceremonies, and soon aIte
placed a neat shaft above it.


Would you believe allowed that stone
to lie ten years IN my possession with th,
secret on its surface unsOlved Yes, tel
long years elapsed before the importan
intelligence the enigma contained became
clear to me- And you will say with me
when you have learned its import, that q
child should have guessed it, and that my
stupidity was certainly unexplainable.
dreamed very frequently oiDeFonvile dur
ing these ten years, but he invariably ap
peared to me as he did during our college
days, light-hearted and joyous, and | al
ways awoke more fully convinced that tht
secret if the stone really contained one
was unimportant. and that the where
abouts of the diamond made little differ
ence to its owner, since he was no longer
of earth


But, strangely enough, once dreamed
that he said to me in a careless way ~ OF
see told you the truth about that enigma
but you will solve it some day; never
: tsar!"


This dream impressed me considerably
at the tiu,a but If soon paSSad from .ny