Year: 1875

Garth, will make you an enigma some
day that you will be years in solving!"


How often have | recalled those words
and the appearance of the speaker as he
uttered them.


How often since, when sitting alone in
my room, at the sight of some of my old
chums books, or maybe, the whistling in
the street below of an old familiar air of
his, by some happy boy who little thought
his careless efforts had brought great,
bearded man to the verge of tears, have |
recalled his cherished features and happy
smile, and with my head bowed in sorrow
at his fate, wondered if it were possible
that he felt those words were prophetic,
and that the last moments of his RAPIDLY
fading existence would be spent in their
tulGllment.


Three days from the date Of the Incl
dent mentioned above, DeFonville struck
5T1e OF the Professors of the college for a
iancied insult and fled | received short
letter from him soon after, bidding me not
to feel anxious about him, and stating that
he was on y too happy to be freed from
college thralldom, and urging me to re-
sign my Latin and Greek and join him in
a trip to the western wilds


Fearing that his strong love Of adven-
ture might induce him to enter upon a
wild and reckless lite wrote to him, be.
seechng him to return and ask forgiveness
| of the Professor whom he had injured, and
again engage in study. Ipicturcd TO him
the loneliness should feel in his absence,
and promised that if he would return and
await my graduation, | would then go
with him wherever in the wide world he
| wished.


| | received no answer to this letter.
year passed away and | heard nothing
from my too impulsive friend. | graduat-
ed, returned to my native city and en-
| gagged in a profession. Still no word from
| DeFonville. His guitar, which he had left
with me, | preserved as a sacred relic of
friend whom | began to mourn as one
whom | might never see again on earth.
You can imagine the JOY | felt, when, on
| inquiring at the post office one day | re-
ceived q letter that bore upon the soiled
envelope his well-remembered penman
| ship. This letter had been written in the
wilds of the west, and sent by some hunter
en- route to civilization, to the nearest
post office, for mailing 1t stated that he
had been living a wild life in the woods,
and had enjoyed himself in manner far
superior to the tame pleasures of civilza-
ton His letter concluded as follows:


The presentiment spoke to you about
when we We're at college, has, curously
enough, slumbered till lately but now
| breaks in upon my peace with redoubled
weight. Nothing could induce me to leave
| this happy, adventurous existence, but the
possibility Of that diamonds falling into
strangers hands, If | am to die. Arth.,
| must be near you-you haven't forgot
that promise-have you? After all, my
dear friend, my presentiment may never
be realized and we may live many happy
days in each others society. When reach
your home we will 90 together to s.,
and look in upon the dear old room where
so many happy hours were spent. You
have my guitar yet, have you? How long
to touch the dear Old strings once more
Well, good-bye-I shall see you soon,
hope"


1t was plainly evident that DeFonville's
mind was haunted by the fear Of sudden
death, and the effort 50 apparent in the
closing lines OF the letter to throw off the
me very much. How frequently prayed
ure | took in my preparations to receive
|
ing college, but not one among them was
half so dear to me as DcFonville.


Three weeks passed away and | daily
expected my friends arrival. One night
Git was the ID of April, after retired, l
lay for time thinking of my old chum,
while my eyes rested on his guitar which
stood Just across the room, its every part
visible in the moonlight that fell upon it
through the window. The Instrument was
tuned Just as he had lett it when last his
skilful fingers had drawn from its breast
the harmonics with which he was wort to
sweeten our leisure hours | lay there
planning pleasure excursions for his en-
lertanment when he should arrive, and
wondering if he had changed much, and
it in the wllds his fingers had lost their
musical cunning, and if he would be able
to delight US with his skill on the dear old
instrument, when, Heaven how it shock
ed me! A string broke with a loud report
and the instrument, being thrown from
its rest by the jar, fell to the floor.


Strange that | should be thus shocked
by so simple an occurrence-I. who had
no superstitious folly about me, and would
pass the night in a vault if it were neces-
sary, without Il tremor. Why should the
breaking of string on an absent friends
guitar fill me with such a strange inde-
scribable fear? What if his fingers AaG
drawn tears from my eyes in their manipu
lation of those strings, and the notes from
the broken one had helped make up the
harmony? He could get another when he
came-and thus | went on in my vain at
tempts to Danish the fear that had crep
into my heart, until awakened by fright
fully VIVID dream. | thought DeFonville
haggard and bloody, threw his icy arm.
around me and whispered


''lIIE ENIGMA Is READY SOLVE IT-sOLvI


IT.


, BY q strong effort of the will l threw
off the alarming influence Of the vision
) and slept again. Again the cold arms en-
circled my neck, and the icy whisper
l ''Solve it, solve it," filled my ear. arose
) and descended to the street As did So


the tower clock tolled the hour of four
: In twenty minutes Il western train was
: due. Re-entering the house, I packed q
: few articles of clothing in my valise
| hurriedlv bade my mother and sister good
| bye, and arrived at the depot in time tC
l take the train


: You will understand that | believed De





: ed that his presentiment had been realized
and in a manner more dreadful than ht
had anticipated could not have beer
persuaded from the conviction also, tha
| it was my duty to institute search fol


him and fulfill, if possible, the solemn
, promise had made to him concerning the
diamond. 1t will seem strange to you
but l felt almost confident that he haC
! II,
his dying moments, he had endeavored by
: means of the genius he possessed FOL
enigmatcal writings. to give me some
] clue to the recovery of the mvsteriou:
gem which had undoubtedly been taker
from him by his assassin.


will not weary you with the details OF
? my wanderings. DeFopville had evident
ly travelled under an assumed name, as
was unable to obtain the slightest trace O


him. | never. tor moment wavered in
nv belief that he had been murderousy