Rhyl Journal

r OTTIR, SERIAL TA.LB. [PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.] COLONEL THORNDYKE'S SECRET BY G. A. HENTY, Author of The Queen's Cup," In the Days of the Mutiny," "A Woman of the Commune," A Hidden Foe," By Sheer Pluck," With Clive in India," &o.. &o. [COPYRIGHT.] CHAPTER XX.-(Continued.) Lunch had by this time been laid on the table, and at Dick's invitation the lieuvenajit joined them. "It is an extraordinary story!" he said. "That you- life should hare been spared is e2together be- yond my comprehension; sqllli jiore so why they should have left you your money and watoh." Tho whole story is extraordinary," Dick Chafc- ^vynd said for we have every reason to believe that t!io<e. fellows, or at least ono or two of them, have boon patiently wa.tchin.ff for a chance of carrying off those diamonds for twenty years. When my friend tald me of it ten days ago I did not believe that it could be possible; but he has certainly shown that lie -was correct in his opinion." Mark then related the history of the jewels, our- prising- the pugilists and detectives as much aa the lieutenant. It i3 extraordinary indeed," the latter said. I should not have believed it possible that men could have devoted so many years to such a purpose not that they couid have succeeded in tracing the dia- monds in spite of the precaution taken by your >ncle, and afterwards by yourself. It would seem that from the t-ime fio landed in England he, a-nd after him Your father and yourself, must have been watched ^'imost night and day. I can understand now why they did not take your watch and money. They evidently noted from a sort of religious enthusiasm, and \1"" no ordinary thieves, but as evidently they did not hesit-ate to kill, I cannot undersitalli why they should have added to their riska by epanng you." No. that is what puzzles me," Mark agreed. I was thinking it over while we a- driving here. Now let me hear about the figfat, Dick- How did you all come out of it?" A.« welil as could be expected.^ GiDDana and Tring both got some heavy blows with the cudgels, as indeed we all did more or low, but they did great execution. Eleven fellows were left senseksa on tha and one of them, that 15ack fellow who came over with us, was killed. The other ten are all in prison. All of us did our best and managed to leave our mark on eight othesra who Wero in consequence picked out, and are also in gaol." Dick went on to relate the particulars of tho s-earcrl. "You see our friend here had traced you to the barge and found out her destination, and if you had come ten minutes later you would have found that wo had all just started for Rotterdam. I was only Waiting for Chester and Malcolm to return to set out. I am sorry, Mark, that you have lost your diamonds; not so much because they are gone, for I can woli Understand you to be thoroughly glad to be rid of Fuch dangerous articles, but because they should have r;-rried them off in our teeth,after we have been ep'5o:a, [y retained to protect you. I certainly thought that with such a bodyguard yon were isboolutdi saie from any number of Hindoos." Yes, we made a regular mees of it. Mr. 'Rnrw dvke." Gibbons said. I never felt on certain 01 "Winning a battle M I did that you would not be touched rr, long aa we were looking after ymi. Trips and I, if we had bec-n asked would have said that wo could each have taken on a dozen foreigners easily. Mr. Chetwynd is handy with his flsta too, though he hasn't your weight and Teach, and your two other friencli "are both pretty well accustomed to deal with rough customerll. As for Tring and me. it makes one feel .snvatl to know that we have been bested by a handful of niggers, or Hindoos or what- ever the chaps are, whom a good-sized boy of twel-to Oueht to bo able to polish off." Now Mark, what is to be done next?" .V Dick Chetwynd asked. "Tlio next thing will be to get back aO soon as We can, Dick. I. for one, have had enough of Holland to lost me for a lifetime." "I am afraid, gentlemen," the lieutenant said, 41 you will have to wait a day or two before you can leave. I have nineteen men in prison, and will got a meeting of magistrates this afternoon. Now you have come back, Mr. Thorndyke, the charge against them won't be as Fsrious as it would have been beforo, but they are guilty of a desperate and premedi- tated assault upon srix passengers on their arrival Here • they have already admitted that they were paid' for their work, and as among them are Borne of the worst characters in the city, you may be sure that now we have got them fairly in our hands we shall not let them go. It is so simple an affai- that the investigation ought not to take long. but we shall want to find out if we can, who acted as the intermediary between the Hindoos and the prisoners. I should think that two meetings ought to be sufficient for the present, but I am afraid that there may then be a long remand, and that you will either have to remain here or to come over again." "It would be a horrible nuisance, Dick «*■!«, "still it would be better to come back again than to Wait here indefinitely, and anyhow I don t suppose it would be necessary for all of ua to come back should not mind if it oould be an-anged for me to bo here again in a month s time, Mark agreed, for to toll you the truth, I am going to be married m lees than three weeks. .<1 aQ T harl int.ended to CUID" to Brussels and1 afterwards to travel for a while, I could make a v*3it here without greatly putting my- I will try an arrange that, Mr. Thorndyke. I shall be glad," Mark said, if you can manage to get the men sentenced with- out going into the question of the diamonds at all and treat the matter as a mere attempt a* robbery It surely would not be necessary to bring the question of my being carried away into the matter at all • I can give evidence that I was knocked down and stunned and that I was robbed of some jewels that I had about me, which were the object of the attack^k wp have to admit that," tire Lieutenant said; it must come out that the attack WelTifTt1 muXit must;" Mark said, reluctantly, « but then, yon see, no end of questions would be naked, and the thing might b* dela^ whi^ a March is being made for the men who stole the bracelet. "Well, we will keep it out of the question if We can," the Lieutenant said, "the meeting will be at three o'clock; I will eend a man to take you to the Town-nan. At the appointed hour the party prroeeded to the Court, and the eighteen pnaanere, under a strong guard, having been brought m, Kix magistrate took their places on the bench, the rest of the court was crowded the fray on the wharf a-nd the number ofcaptures haying created quite a stir in the aty- arranged *hat Tring should firet gire hw Which he did. the Lieutenant of watoh interpreter, though most of the magistrates under- stood English The appearance of the created qaite a sensation in the Court, for the in- juries that ttiey had received were now even more ooospiououa than been -when first captured; some of them had to be led mto Court, their eyes being completely aosed, othera had their heads bandaged, and all showed signs of tremendous punishment. Tring related that he, with others, had oome ashore together; one of hia oocipaniona had a row on board a ship they had crossed in, with a Lascar sailor, who was a passenger, and they kept together as they were crossing the %harf thinking that possibly the man might attempt LO famb his Tra-ion. I was walking befonul tirai, Triog went on, when the Lascar Jumped suddenly out from among the man standing about, raid was about to stab my companion, when I hit him juet in time, and fra went down; then there was a rurih and we all got feparated and did as well as we could until the watch came Up • that is all that I know about it." "'is the Lwcar among the prisoners?" one of the magistrate* avko4 tho Lieutenant of the watch. SL No sir, when peeked up by one of my men he Waa found to be deadf the blow had apparently killed him instantly*" The other five then it similar to that of Tring in frpnfr of Kim they knew nothing of the the L&s«a*. All tlwrr knew about it wae that there Waa a sudd<» rush upon them by a num^^ted <iu* &ey were separ^^ a^ tha* each defended himeelf the ^videnoe, Some of the watch then gave «»menoe, and Wdtar on arrivisff « the prisoners were found lying pe recovering, they were all taken to th notorious where eeveral of them were "*»gaued M ^tpnous bad oharaotere; they had admitted tha* th | paid to make the attack, which was apparen lV SSt of the private enmity °VZL^Sed Bona unknown to one or moreof th<^•JtodwO. h(J The Lieutenant then related the stejw that ne taken to capture others connected with the attaok. an that he found eight men bearing marks of the fra5^ and that all these were also notorious characters, ano associates of the prison?* taken, lhe first witnesses were again questioned 5 fiye of them said that so far as they knew they had htf personal enemies. Mark, who was the last to get into jjjie witness-box, said that he himself had no but that an uncle of his, who was in the British tndian service, had a sort of feud with gome mem- bers of a nook there on account of some jewels that he had purchased, and whichhad, they declared; been stolen from Temple. Two soldiers through Whose hands these thmgs had passed, had b^n •successively killed bv them. and hifl uncle had to the day of his death believed *hft their vengeance Vould one day fall upon ^r (< "I oan only suppose, .™n^U€<^w&n I hava inherited the enmity they him m I inherited the jewels, and that the attack was really designed aoleiy against me, asd ^he c^sequncea iivinht hare been fatal to me had it not been for th# ?K} &'Z2'&mX? £ "»• r tmtivc-: "»• r tmtivc-: *»»* 0 ■' tki,! stuv ii' juffht «: tVt&L-. 5*1 4. 1 tbfH ways really Jiettigat^d by the men I have no doubt what- ever, since, as you have heard, it was begun by a Laacar," who tried to stab one of my companions and who received a knock-down blow that caused his death from one of the others. It is a well- known fact that these people will cherish for many years a determination to avenge any injury. How- ever, I hope that after the failure of this attempt upon my life I shall hear no more of them." "Were any knives found on the prisoners?" the magistrates asked the lieutenant of the watch. No, sir; all carried clubs. And they told me that they had been specially ordered not to take knives, and had indeed been searched before they came out." What impression do you gather from that, Mr. Thorndyke? My impression is, sir. that they desired to over- power those with me and to beat them down, in order to carry out their revenge upon me." After some consultation the magistrate who had before spoken said: The prisoners will be remanded. It i. neces- sary that we should find out who was the cliief cul- prit who bribed this gang. As soon as the prisoners were taken out of court Mark slipped across to the magistrates, accom- panied by the lieutenant as interpreter. I hope, gentlemen, that our presence here will not be necessary, for it would be a matter of ex- treme inconvenience. I may say that my marriage is fixed for to-day three weeks, hence you can well imagine that I want to return as soon as possible. Two of the men are, as you have heard. Bow Street officers, whose presence could not well be spared." The magietrate6 sgain consulted together. "Your evidence has all been taken down by the Clerk of the Court. Certainly wo should not require your presence at the remand: but that, of course, would depend upon whether these men all own their guilt, which, having been taken, as they may sav, red-handed, it is likely enough they will do. We will consent, therefore, to your leaving, if you will give us an undertaking to return for the trial if your presence is at all necessary, and that you will bring with you the m-tn who struck down the Las- car, who commenced the fray, and one cf the others." "That I will do willingly," Mark replied. "We are much obliged to you for your consideration. I shall be travelling for a time after my marriage; but should I hear from you that our presence is re- quired I will give you the route I intend to take and the address at which letters will find me, and if you send me a sufficiently long notice I will at once return for the trial" CHAPTER XXI. Yot, managed that very wen, Mark," Dick said. "Yon kept well within the hmrts of truth without bringing the read facta of the attack upon us into the case." Well you see, Dick, after working as I told you as a detective, one gets into the way of telling etories with the smallest amount of deviation possible. What will these fellows get done to them f" "I Fiiould say that they will get two or three years' imprisonment; the only charge now is rioting ana assault. It is lucky for them that they had clubs instead of knives. It would have brought the matter under the head of attempted murder; the matter of the gems was not important in the caso, but there is suro to be a great fuss and search for the Aliasing Indians. I. suppose ygu will soon bo off home now?" Yes, I shaS find out to-night what vessel leaves for England to-morrow, and take a berth in the first that feila for London. It is too late to think of starting this evening, and indeed I feel that I want » long night's rest, for I did not sleep much last night, and hava not quite recovered from that crack on my On his return to the hotel, Mark sent out a man to enquire at. tho shipping offices, and finding that a barque would sail at nine o'clock the next morning, they went down and took berths, and sailed in her next day. The voyage homo was a rapid one, for the wind blew steadily from the east, and tho vessels made the passage to the mouth of the river in two days, and the next took them up to London. I will call round to-morrow or next day. Gibbons, with the cheques for you both," Mark said, as he prepared to go ashore. No. sir. We are both of one mind that we could not take them. We went over to prevent you beiJiT robbed of those sparklers, and to eea that you came to no harm. Well, the things axe lost, and you have got knocked down and carriod away. It is r.o thanks to us that you are alive now. It ia a mortify- iuq- job. that with two detectives to watch over things and with us to fight we should have been fairly beat by a few black niggers," If there had been any bungling on your part, Gibbons, there might be something in what you say, but no one could have foreseen that before we nad been on shore two minutes we should have been attacked in that way. You both did all that men could do, as was shown by tho condition of the fellows who were taken. I was just as much separ- ated from you as you were from me, and the fact that we were surprised as we were is really due to mv not determining to ,-tay on board until the morning, which I could no doubt have done wnl« the captain's permission. It never struck mo for a moment that we should be attacked in force. I thought it probable that an attempt altagtlassinabion would be mado, but it certainly did Hot geein probable that it would be attempted while you w, all with mo. You are not in the slightest degree to blame, for your part of the agreement was car- ried out to my satisfaction. I shall certainly carry out mine, as I have arrived home safo and sound." Well, governor, it ie very good of you but 1 tell you it will go aga-iust the grain, for us to take your money." On landing Mark parted with Dick Chetwynd who had arranged to drop Mark's bag at his lodguga on his way home, and at once took a hackney coach to Islington. Millicent gave a cry of delight as he entered the room. You are back earlier than I expected, Mark. Yon told me before you started that the wind was in the east, and that you might bo a long time getting to Amsterdam, unless it changed. I have been watch- ing tile vane on the church, and it haa been pointing ea4,t ever since. Well you have sold the diamonds, I hope?" she said, after the first greeting was over. No; I have bad news for you Millicent; the jewels have been stolen." Well, it does not make much difference, Mark. We have much more than enough without them, so don't bother yourself in thy least. How did it happen ? Well, it is rather a long story. I will tell it you whoa Mrs. Cunningham is here, so as not to havo to go over it twice. How are the dresses gobting on? I suppose they are getting on all right," she said. I have done nothing for the last two days but try them on. You see. wo put them out to three millin-er3, and they all three seem to re"ch the same point together, and I start after breakfast, and it ttket about two hours at each place. You don't know what trouble yen have givrsn me by hun-y- ing thingi on so unreasonably." Well. it is better to have it an done and over," he said, "than to have the thing hanging over you for a couple of months." That is what Mrs. Cunnjn-gham says. Now I want to hear about your nrJve:>tures, and I will call her down. Only think, Mrs. Cunningham," Millicent said. presently, with a, laugh, after slip had returned with her, this sil-y boy has actually let the di-anwnd1 be stolen from him." "No. real"y, Millcent! Yet. indeed. iMiscy his not being fit to be trusted to look after them. However, I tell him it is of no cong, I don't knew how they went. He would net tefl me the stcry until you came down." "I am sorry to say it. j-s true, Mrs. Cunningham, although I can assure you that I really cannot blame myself for either wglessness or stupidity. I knew when I started, t,il% a, there wm a very great risk, and took what ec?ml'd to 111s every possible precaution, tor in addition to D:ck Chetwynd gomg with n-ie, I took two detectives from Bow Street and two prizt* ^^Exclamations of surprise broke from both ladies. And yet in spite of all that these things were stolen," Millicent said. How on earth did thev do it? I should have sewn them up in my pockets ln" T^ewedCithein up in the waistband of mv trousers, Millicent, and .yet they managed m fpite of us to stead them. And now I must begin by telling you the who.e historT of those diamonds, and you will understand why I thougiit it necessary to tak* a strong party W Ho then told them, repeating ihe history AeCoW h«4 given his father of the diamonds and the con hftt he had, that he had been followed ^y Hindoos, jiufl thfi instructions he had given for disposal of the brae'feioi, — xa As you know," he said, 'f nothing happened 0 confirm my uncle's belief that there Were men here in search of the diamonds during my father a life but since then I have come to the same con- elusion that he had, and felt positive that I being constantly followed wherever I went. A3 soon as J heard where the treasure was I began to take every promtition in my power. I avoided gojncr to the bank after my fir*t visit there, and as you know, would not bring the things for you to lcolt at. I got Dick Chetwynd to go there, open the case and take out these diamonds. He did not bring them away with him, but fetched tliem from there the morning we started. He went down and tootc ^0 passage for ua both at the shipping office, and the pugilists ana the detectives each took passages for tliem3(^vea' j° li as I hoped, however closely I was followed, they would not learn that I was tlkinst hem to Amsterdam." "Itwas very wrong, Mark; very wrong indeed," Mrtllicont no right to run such fwrSe visk; it %ve been tetter for you to have taken the aiamoiad# thrown them into That"1 would not have improved matters/' he said the Indians would not have known that I had'srot rid of them, and wouCd have continued their efforts to find them, and I should always have been in dan^r instead rf 'or all However, I did not think tnat there was any dang#, SSg over as I did with two of the best STfia&a in Enghmd, to say nothing of the det^tiySfWu W umen 7hVZer Wlt\,me When I caught Bastow: the onlv danger wa* that I might be «tabb-d; but, 8i they would know, it wM no use their stabbing me iiniesa they 1 .i..tlv And that thev could not do l* ■ IIG i jI¡' ti.1' to stir cut siflle?* oartr W't", me. I found out when we got on board that in spite of all the precautions I had taken, they had discovered that I going to sail for Amsterdam, which they could onlv have done by following Dick as1 well ak n-vself. There was a, dark-faced foreign jailor, who, I no doubt, was a Hindoo, ^Arctfidy on board, and I saw another in a boat watching us start; this was unpleasant, but as I felt sure that they coulc* not have known that I had with me detectives and pvgilists, I Mill felt that they would be able to tic nothing when I got to AmstErdam. Then he told them the whole story of the attack. of his being carried away, and of his unexpected release: of the search that had been made for him, and the arrest of eighteen of his assailant?. Millicent grew pale as he continued, and burst into tears when she heard of his being a. prisoner in the hands of the Hirdcos. I shall never let you go out of my sight again, Mark," she exclaimed, when he had finished. "It was bad enough before when you were searching for that man here, and I used to be terribly anxKms, but that was nothing to this." "Well, there is an end of it now, Millicent; the men have got the diamonds, and will soon be on their way to India, if they have not started already. Nasty rhings," she said, I shall never like diamonds again; they will always remind me of the terrible danger that you have run. Isn't it extra- ordinary that for twenty years four or five men should be spending their lives waiting for a chance of getting them back! "I do not expect there were so many as that, probably thire was only one. He would have no difficulty in learning that my father had not received any extraordinary gams from my uncle, and probably supposed that they would no be taken out from wherever they might be until you came of age. After the death of my father he might suppose that I should take them out, or that at any rate I should go to whoever had them, and tee that they were all right, and be would then hire perhaps half a dozen La,scars-there are plenty of them at the docks, and have me watched wherever I went, and do you know that I believe I once owed my life to them." How was that, Mark 1"' Well. I was captured by some fellows who suspected mo to be a Bow-street runner, and I think that it would have gone very hard with me if a party of five or six prize-fighters had not broken into tfJ-Q house, pretty nearly killed the men in whose hands I was, and rescued me. They said that they had heard of my danger from a foreign sailor. Who called at Gibbons', with whom I was in the habit of boxing, and told him about it. You see until they learwed where the jwela were, my life was valuable to them, for possibly I WM the only person who knew where they were hidden; so really I don't tliink I have any reason for bearing a grudge against them. They saved mylifo in the first place, and spared it als what was a distinct risk to them- epive". ,0n the other hand they were content with rceaining the bracelet, not even, as I told you, taking my wateh or purse. You see with-them it wa* a matter of religion. They had no animosity against me personally, but I have no doubt they would have stabbed me without the slightest com- punction had there been no other way of getting the things. Still, tt think that I owe a debt of gratitude to thorn rather than the reverse, and after all, the loss of the bracelet is not a serious one to us." "I am glad it is gone," Millicent said; "you say it had already caused the death of two men, and if you had succeeded in selling it, I can't help thinking that the money would have brought ill-fortune to us. I am heartily glad that they are gone. Mark. I suppose they were very handsome." "They wero magnificent," he said. "Dick and Cotter both agreed that they had never seen their equal, and I fancy that they must have been worth a groat deal more than your father valued them at." Well, it does not matter at 4.11; there is no his- tory attached to the others, I hope, Mark?" Not in any way. dear. They were bought, as the Colonel told my father, in the ordinary course of things, and some no doubt wore obtained at the cap- ture of some of the native princes treasuries, but it was solely on account of this bracelet that he had any anxiety. You can wear all the others if you have a, fancy for keeping them. without a shadow o( risk." No, Mark, we will sell them every one. I don't. think that I shall ever care to wear any jewels again, and if I am ever presented at Court and have to do so I would rather that you should buy some mew ones fresh from a jeweller's shop than wear anything that has come from India." To-morrow you shall both go to the Bank will me to see them and then I will take them to some first-class jeweller's and get him to value them." The visit was paid next day. Both Millicent anJ Mrs. Cunningham were somewihat disappointed at the jewels. >, It is hardly fair to see them like this." Philip Cotter said. They would look very different if reset.No Indian jewels I have ever seen show to advantage in their native settings; but many of the stones are very large, and without knowing anything about them I should say that they are fully worth the £25.000 at which you say Colonel Thorndyke valued them. He was not likely to be mistaken He was evidently a judge of these matters, and would hardly be likely to be far wrong." We will go with you to the jeweller's, Mark, Millicent said. "In the first place I shall not feel quite comfortable until I know that they are out of your hands, and in the next place I should like to hear what he thinks of them." I have a number of Indian jewels that I wish you to value for me," Mark said, lie carrying the caso he entered the jeweller's shop. They were collected by Colonel Thorndyke, an uncle of mine, during service in India." The jeweller took them, with him iirfcu a rvrom behind the shop. The case was opened, and the man took out sixty-eight small parcels it contained, and opened them one after the other. I shall need a. very careful examination of those before I can form any estimate of their value," he said, after inspecting some of the more important pieces of jewellery carefully. "They are a most magnificent collection, and had they been properly cut in the first place they would have been worth a vary large sum. Unfortunately, the Indian prinecs think more of size than of lustre, and have their stones cut very much too flat to show off their full brilliancy. Some of these large ones I should certainly advise to be re-cut, for what they will lose in weight they will gain in beauty and value. How- ever, sir, I will go through them and give you an estimate of the selling value of each piece. I need not say that they ought all to be reset in the pre- vailing fashion, but the gold, which ie in some cases unnecessarily massive, will go some distance towards defraying the expense." When'shall I call again?" Mark asked. ( I should be glad if you can give me » week," the jeweller said. Some of the things, for in- stance that great pearl necklace, I could appraise without much difficulty, but all the gems must be taken out of their settings before I could form a fair idea of their valua." Then I wIll oall in a week's time," Mark said. I am in no particular hurry about them, but I would rather that they were m your care than mine." Yes, if the cracksmen got word that there was such a collection as this in any private house it would need a couple of men with pistols to keep guard over them, A week later Mark again called, "I have the list ready for you, sir; you wifl see that they are not marked according to their setting, but according to their size and value. Thus, you tee, the largest atones are priced separately: the smaller ones are in groups according to their weight. The total cornea to £42,000. I do not know whether that at all equals your expectations. I may say that I have shown the stones to two or three of our principal diamond merchants, and that the prices I have put down are those which they would be willing to buy them at; possibly some would be worth more. I had the merchants here together, and they spent some hours going through them, and the sums put down are those at which one of other were willing to pur- chase." It quite answero my expectations," Mark said. "My uncie's estimate, indeed, was soipewhat lower, but doubtlesohe judged them at the price which they would fetch m India. Well, air, I authorise you to close with the offers, and to dispose of them for nio. I will ffir* Jou.a written authority to do so. In tae meantime, I wish to buy a suite of jewels as a wedding present, a tiara, necklace, and bracelets; but I do not want any diamonds to be among them." I am afraid I have nothing in stock without diar monds; of ooursa I have both necklaces and brace- lets of almost any stones that you might select, but I have no complete set without diamonds; the effect would be sombre, and few ladies would like them." We have some unpleasant associations with dia- monds," Mark said, and on that point I am quite determined; but if you used pearls in- stead of diamonds the effect might be gpod. I don't care whether the stones ars qmeralda or rubies; at any rate, X should like to see some, and then perhaps you might be able to make me a set on the same model." Several superb setswer6 brought in; Mark s«* looted one of emeralds and diamonds. "What would be the price of thia set?" he asked. "That get ia B6,000, sir; the stcmea are excep- tionally fine ones; but if you substituted pearls of eaual size for the diamonds, it wowld cost consider- ably less; I could not give you tie exact price until it 18 made, but I should say that it would be about £ 4-,500." Very well, then, I will take that. How long will it bo making?" "I should not like to say less than. three months at the earliest; it will require some time to collect as fine a set of emeralds as these. Indeed, 1 think: that most probably I shall use these emeralds, or the greater part of them, and collect others to take their places at my leisure. I do not know whether the beet plan would not be to take the diamonds out akd substitute pearls; there would be no difficulty ?n getting them, and in tha$pase I plight have it ready for you in a month. "I think that will be the best plan; but you need not be in any particular hurry about them, my marriage will take place in less than a fortnight, and after that I shall probably be two or taree months before I return to London; I will get you to keep the things until I come back." I have sold the jewels, Millicent," he said, when he returned to Islington; the jeweller has found purchasers for them all, and the total oom.ee to £ 42,000." wos owned in surprise. I rAthw* Tonewj is one thing, there are always pienty cf pvopie who will ;be glad to relieve us of anything that we don't want. I can K'-l you that in the course of my search for Baster,v I have seen an amount cf poverty and misery such-as I never dreamt- of" and I certainly 0,.nc y should like to do som-eth;i- £ to relieve it. best thing that I know of would be to give a h.-ndsome sum to thre9 or four of iL great hospitals. I don't know of any better means of helping the very poor." Suppose, Mark," the girl said, putting her hand on his arm, wo give tlva £ 42,000 as a. thank-ofierin;i;. We never expected to get it, and ir;y father's jeweiS have nearly cost you your life. We have such an abundance without that I chould I'ike, above a.d things, to give this money away." I think that is an excellent plan, Millicent, and a very happy thought on your part. We cannot do it now, as we have not yet got the money, but as soon as we do, we will send off cheques for 10,000 syuinca-j each to St. Bartholo- mew's, Guy's, and St. Thcraas's, those are the t-nreo principal ones; the other we can settle after- wards. But I should s.y that the Foundling would be as ^ood as any, and I believe lint they are rather short of funds at present; ihen there is the London Mendicity Society, end many other gcod-charities. Perhaps it -WouM be better to divide the whole among eight of them instead of four; but we noed not settle that until wo i-eturri." Do you think we shall have to go to this horrid Amsterdam, Mark 1 hope not, dear but I slia.1 no doubt hear from the lieutenant of the watch daring the next weeic or ten days." When the letter came it was sati;«[acloiy. The prisoneis, seeing the hoptiessuoss 01 any defence, had ml admitted their gud, and ti e name of the man who had dealt with them had also been given up. Except in his case there wouid be no trial, others would have sentences passed on them at once, a.i,d the three, had been promised eouip.u'aiive.y slight punishment, had goue in the box to g.ve evidence against the arum who had engaged tiivai. Before starting for Holland, Alark hud coinuaed Millicent as to whether she would pi'tfer being married in London or at Ci-owswcod. bh", had replied: 1 should greatly prefer Crowswood, Mark. Here wo know no one, there we should be among all our friends; certain;y if we tion't go we must, get itr. Greg to come up and nuury us here. 1 am sure he would feel very disappointed if anyone else wtve asked. At the same time I should not like to go home. When we come back from our trip it will bo diiie- rent; but it would be a great trial now, and how- ever happy we might be 1 .;iiuulci feel there was a gloom over tho house." I quite agree with you, Mi!Iicent._ When we come back we can see about entirely refurnishing it and, perhaps, adding some rooms to it, and we need not go down until a complete change has been made. Wq shall bo able to manage it somtnow or other, and I quite agree with you that anything will be better than going back to the house for a day or two before the wedding." On the voyage back from Holland Mark had talked tho matter over with Dick Chetwynd, and said that he itiouglit of taking rooms for Mrs. Cunningham and Millicent at Keigate and stopping at the hotel himself, and having the wedding breakfast there." Of course, Dick, you will be my best man." 1 should think so," Dick laughed. Why, if you had asked anyone else I should have made a personal matter of it with him, and have given him the option of resigi)ing the position or going out with me. But your other plans axe foolish, and I shall take tho matter into my own hand. I shall insist upon the two ladies coming down to the Park, and I will get my aunt to come and pre- side generally over thing3. I ehall fill up the house with bridesmaids and that sort of thing, and shall have a dance the evening before. You can put up at the hotel if you like, but you know very well that there are a dozen houses where they will be delighted to have you there is no doubt that when they know what is coming off you will get a dozen invitations, and then after church all those invited will drive off to the Park to tho wedding breakfast. After that is over you can start in a poet-chaise to Canterbury or Dover, wherever you may decide to make your first halt." But my dear Dick, I could not put you to all this trouble! Nonsense, man. I should enjoy it immensely; besides, I shall be really gtad of a good reason to try and open the doors of the Park again.. I have been there very little since my father's death, and I tliink I shall make it my headquarters in future. I am getting rather tired of bachelor life in London, and must look out for a wife; 110 nothing could be more appropriate than this idea. Don't bother yourself any further about it. I shall ride down and establish myself there to-morrow, spend a couple of days in driving round to our friends, and in sending out invitations. I shall still have nearly a fortnight for making all preparations. Why, it will cause quite an excitement in the neighbourhood. I shall be hailed as a benefactor, and I shall let everyone know that your father's ward was really your cousin, but that by the will of her father she waa to drop her surname until she came of age; and that until that time your father was to have the entire control of the property. I shall add that although the estate, of course, is hers, your uncle has left you a very big fortune, and that noth- ing could be more suitable in all respects than the marriage." That will do excellently, Dick; that will be quite enough, without going into details at all. You can mention that we intend to have the house entirely re-furnished, and on th. return from our wedding trip abroad to settle there. I am sure I a;?111 extremely obliged to you f<ff your dfler, which will certainly clear away all tprta of small diffi- culties. A day or two after his return, Mart wrote to Mr. Irreg, telling him the relations ir which Milliecm and he stood to each other, and of the near approach of their marriage He said that Millicent would be married from Dick Chetwynd's, but that it woidd "et Crowawcod church. In return he received 4' warm letter of congratulation from the Rector, telling him that the news was in every jeepeot delightful, and that his wife and the children were in a state of the highest excitement, not only at the marriage, but at their coming down to reside again at Crowswood. The village," he said. will be scarcely less pleased than I am. for though everything goes on as you ordered, and the people get their milk, broths, and jellies as before, they don't look at it as the same thing as it was in the old dtys. j cannot say that the news of your engagement to MisS Conyera —I ought to say Miss Thorndyk-is surprising, for I had thought that it would be quite the naUural thing for you to fall in love with each other, and indeed my wife declares that she saw it coming on distinctly during the last few months before y.ru left here. Your postscript saying that Bastow had been captured and had committed suicide, gave me a distinct feeling of relief, for no one could tell whether the deadly enmity that lie felt for your father might not extend to you. I have cut thia note rather short, but I have just heard the door shut, and I am quite sure that iny wife has gone down to tell the good news in the village, and I really cannot deny myself the phaaurc of teiiing some of the people and seeing their faces brighten up at the news. As Dick "h3*! foretold would be the ease, Mark received a very warm letter from S11 Charles Harris, congratulating him upon his approaching marriage and insisting upon his taking up his quarters with him. I am sending a man down with this to hand it to the guard as the up coach 90% through the town. Chetwynd told me that his call 0:1 trie was the first he had paid, so I feel fairly confident that. I shall forestall the rest of your friends and that you will give me the pleasure of your company." Mark wrote back accepting the invitation at once, which enabled him to decline half a. dozen others without the necessity of making a choice. Everything turned out as arranged. Millicent and Mrs. Cunningham went down ii( a post-chaise, two days before the wedding, and Mirk drove down in hie gig with them. Diok Chehynd met them on horseback just outside Reigate, and escorted the ladies to his house, Mark driving On to that of Sir Charles Harris. Millicent found the house full of her special friends, whom she had asked to be her bridesmaids. She was almost bewildered by the warmth of their welcome, and overpowered by the questions poured upon her. The news quite took all (Our breath away. Mil- licent," one of them said; "^t eeenns extraordinary that you should have been M^&s Thorndyke all the time, though I do«'t think that any of us were at all surprised that you should take the name now; you must have been surprised when you heard that you were the heiress of Orowswood." I waa a great deal mojre disgusted than sur- prised," she said, rather indignantly. I did not think that it waa fair at all that I thould atop into Mark's shoes." Well, it has all come right now, Millicent, and I dare say you thought "that it Would, even then." I cam assure you that 1 did not; quite the con- trary, I thought that it never would oome right. I was very unhappy about it fOr a time." Now, youung ladies, -Luck Chetwynd lau £ "will you pleai^e take Mrs. Cunningham and Mis; Thorndyke up to their r^"™s- I don't suppose I shall see any more of yon bet^re dinm time; there are those trunks to be opened and examined, talked over, and admired, M-in 1 'have fifteen more, for the most part men, commg, to dinner, so those of you who aspire to follow Miss Thorndyke's example had best prepare yourselves tor conquest." The ball on the following evening was a groat success. Dick had determined that it thould be a memorable one, and there1 was a consensus of opinion that it was the most briiuajit that had taken placa in that part of the country lor many years. Crowswood church and village presented a most festive appearance on the foEQwing dry there wa.3 not a cottage that had not great posiea of flowers m its windows, and t,blt had not made some sort ot attempt at decoration" "agg or flowers. A huge arch of evergreens, with sheaves of wheat and flowers, had been erected on the of the hill. and every man, woman, and cluid turned out in their best, end cheered lustily, first, when Mark drove up in his gig, and equally lu-tily when the Chet- wynd carriage, drawn by four grey horses, dashed UP in his gig> .a j thon when the Ghet- bridesmaids and friends. The church was already crowded and Mr. Greg wag visibly moved at seeing the son and niece of the man to whom lie owed his living, "made man and wife. When the wedding breakfast, at which more than fifty s.tt down, and the necessary toasts were over, Mr. and Mrs. Thorn- dyke started for Canterbruy. (To be ooneluded.) "Printins' of everv descriotion at the »j0uriui? li i, I #