The Diamond Derelict Being the Record of a
W W W m W WW
Young Man Who Finally Won Out By Edward Marshall
(Copyright, lfW3, All Rights Reserved, by
F. L. Marshall.)
ClIAI'TKIt I.
It taken a better seaman sometimes to fret
his vcisel out of dock than It doe to gt
her 'cross the wean. The Log Hook of
Tho Lyddy.
. Ill' 9 ... Aaimm In Tyinlnn Thi
-a 1 in " ' no" "
cliy liiy smomerco im u. n
not later than half after 2 In
"W'-ftl the, afternoon, yet tho lamps were
JVJrJ ...I.. .,I..V,1..
low beams a few Inches Into the gray,
dense air, where, they jterlshed miserably.
A young man emerged from the door of
a comfortnhlo looking house near Uusscill
Square. For a moment he paused upon
tho hlKh steps In front of It, half expecting
that he would he called back. Then he
glanced quickly at the knot of black crepe,
and ribbon which depended from the bell
pull. Indeed, he reached out his hand as
If to touch the grim decoration, but quickly
drew It back attain with a shudder.
Then he hurried down tho sli ps. In a
moment he had reached a point whero
It would have been difficult for any watcher
from within the house to recognize his
featurs. An instant later snd a few
Btr'PB more had taken him so far that even
Ms form would have been Indistinguish
able from the windows.
Ho looked back, and for a moment ob
served dimly the outlines of a building.
Then they, too, were veiled from his view
by tho gray curtain of the mist.
He was a well made youiiR fellow of
pe-.-hnps 28, Immaculately dressed In black
frock coat, gray trousers, silk hat and pa
tent leather shoes. Yet there was that
about such portions of his deeply broneed
face as could be seen, and ubout his
quick, athletic carriage, which Indicated
the lithe, strong muscles of the active
rountry man, rather than the thin and
Jaded sinews of the city dweller.. Hut
Ms b-?nrd, black and strong, was pre
cisely trimmed to a point, and Ids hands
wore carefully gloved.
He grasped In his left hand tho double
handles of a large, black bag, such as
might lie used by a man who travels long
distances competently. It was well worn
and eminently practical looking. It had
been pasted by many labels of railroad
lines, steamship companies and hotels.
They showed that It had Journeyed In
South Africa, and an expert could have
traced them through tours In Cape Colony,
the Free State and the Transvaal, as well
as on the steamers which ply between
England and the Cape. The bag was not
cumbrously heavy, for Its boarer did not
lean to one side as do those who carry
very weighty burdens with one hand.
He walked rapidly, and there was Indi
cated, by his frequent turnings to look
behind him, a nervousness not at all com
patible with his general air of complacent
health, prosperity and respectability. Ha
made his way with soma difficulty, due to
the all-pervading mist, to a point fully
half a mile distant from the house from
which he had emerged. There he paused
and stood at the curb. Once or twloe a
cab popped out of the fog, close at hand,
and the young man peered 'earnestly at It
to see if it were occupied. At last he hailed
an empty hansom, and, cllnrblng In, told
' the driver to take him to the offices of the
Royal Union Safety Deposit Institution.
Once there and because of the fog the
short trip was made neither quickly nor
easily he dismissed the cab and mounted
the great stone steps. Inside he was
greeted by the official In charge with evi
dent respect, and soon disappeared in the
direction of the vault, which burrow
dot ply behind greit gates of steel Into mys
terious regions beneath the earth.
He carried tils bag with him us he en
tered the dimly lighted passages, the guar
dians of the treasure raves opening the
steel doors before him in answer to an
official's nod, and, after he had passed
through, locking them behind htm. The
sound of the grating bolts and rattling
keys Jarred on his nerves. Unpleasant
possibilities were suggested by them.
When he had reached a certain depart
ment of the great vaults he turned aside
Into a minor passageway, branching from
a sort of underground waiting room, where
were provided tables, at which customers
f the vaults who had taken their treasures
from their private drawers might examine
them at leisure.
- Hie guide pointed out to him a small
drawer, duly numbered and labeled In the
wall of steel. This the young man opened
with a key from his own pocket, while the
guide discreetly withdrew. He took from
the drawer a long leather belt, which
sapged, as If heavy in the middle, as he
pulled It out. Ho had already unbuttoned
his coat nnd vest preparatory to buckling
the belt about him underneath these ar
ticles of clothing, when one of the custo
dians of the place called out politely to
him:
"I'm sorry, but It's closing time, air."
At the sound of tho voice tho young man
shied like a frightened horse. The watch
man glanced nt him keenly. So pronounced
was the nervousness of the young man's
movements and so white and startled was
his face, as he hastily rearranged his cloth
ing and placed the belt within the big bag,
that the custodian'B wonder was nrouted.
He saw to it that the visitor was delayed
at one of Ihe outer doors until a person
In authority had looked him over and
vouched for tho fact that he had had a
right to do what he had done and was the
real renter of the box which he had
opened.
The young man left the building and
hailed another cab. Ills nervousness had
Increased. When the driver offered to c irry
As he affixed the stamps to the telegraph
slip a vision of still form lying in tho
pallor of that house passed through hH
mind nnd he hesitated for a moment before
he passed the finished message to the clerk.
There were strong urgings In his heart to
tear up the mcusage and tell the watting
driver to take him back at once, so that
he might look again at his dead mother,
but, recognizing tho futility of running
such a risk, he passed it in nnd hurried
out. Then, climbing again Into the hansom,
he told the driver to take him to the
Charing Cross railway station.
CHAPTER II.
Re-pnlntln' of her name don't hurt a
'vessel's speed none. The Log 13ook of
The Lyddy.
Charing Cross railway station in London
Is situated near to one end of that throb
bing business artery called the Strand. It
stands well back from the street and in
front of It la a large paved area, barred
from the thoroughfare by Iron palingi. At
the hour when through trains arrive and
Just before they start this space Is always
crowded by cabs and pedestrians and
progress through It Is difficult, even for the
was a comfort to him. He reflected that
there must bo safety In crowds for the
fleeing man; that It must be easier to lose
one's self among a multitude than In a
wilderness.
In the great train shed, thronged with
busy porters, travelers and their friends,
the correctly dressed young man carrying
the black bag attracted only the most
casual of attention. For a few moments
he wandered apparently about aimlessly,
but really with eyes keenly alert to see if
ho were followed. Then he enterd the pass
ageway leading to the "booking," or ticket,
office, and, stepping up to the . window of
the man in charge, asked for a circular
tour ticket to Paris by the train which waa
to leave at 6 o'clock.
He had considered carefully what variety
of ticket he should take. He assumed that
the tlmo wou!d not be long distant when
anxious Inquiries would be made there, as
at other points where he could arrange
to depart from London, and at this book
Ing office he wished to have them answered.
This was his reason for choosing the cir
cular tour form of ticket, as one which re
quires that the purchaser's name shall be
CARD DROPPED FROM THE POCKETBOOK TO THE FLOOR.
the bag upon the roof of the cab the courteously-Intended
suggestion was rejected
gruffly.
The young man climbed In, placing the
bag on the seat beside hint, while he cast
a glance of definite suspicion at the man on
the box. Ills agitation waa suddenly and
strikingly Increased by the appearance of
a policeman close by the cab. The officer,
however, glauced at him carelessly and
passed on.
With a deep breath of evident relief the
young man directed the driver to stop at a
public house.
He gave his order to the barmaid, call
ing for a double measure of Scotch whisky,
and as he took It his hand trembled so
noticeably that It attracted her attention.
He drank the fiery liquor neat, paused a
moment and asked for another glass. The
barmaid again glanced curiously at him.
Feeling that his pale face and trembling
hands really demanded some explanation,
he said, mendaciously:
"I've been a bit shaken up by a cab ac
cident In the fog." '
Smiling somewhat weakly, he told her to
put him up a flask of gin. Then he made
his way out Into the fog and climbed into
the hansom with his bag.
This time he bade the man take him to
a telegraph office. There he sent a message
to the house near Russell Square, announc
ing that it would be late at night before he
should return. In reality it waa of the
nature of a final farewell. He knew that In
all human probability he should not go
back that night at all, or ever.
artful dodger.
It was at such a time that the young
man with the bag arrived there. His driver
had some trouble In getting the cab near to
the entrance leading to the booking office
and tho young man alighted in the middle
of the area with the bag In his hand, paid
the fee and left him.
Then he hurried Into one of the long,
narrow alleys leading backward through
the bi'lldlng. One of these goes to the
luggage room, one goes direct to the train
shed and another offers entrance to the
hotel office and the station waiting room.
The hotel towers over all and completely
hides from the street any evidence that
there is a railway station behind It, except,
of course, the signs which say so. The
hotel Is owned by the railway company
and is managed in connection with the
station.
It Is patronized chiefly by transients
guests who stay only a day or two, or,
perhaps, only a few hours and the young
man reasonably assumed that the constant
changing of the guests would detract from
the attention which the employes would
bestow upon Individuals.
It was the combination of its proximity to
the railway station and the ephemeral char
acter of its custom that had led him to
choose It as a fitting starting point for his
flight from London.
As he walked across the area into the
building with his bag In his hand, he had
to pass close to a policeman more than
orce, and the nearness was unpleasant
It was difficult to avoid noticeable shrink
lugs. The fact that the placs waa crowded
given when ho takes It.
"What name, please?'" asked the man la
charge.
"Henry Parton," said the young man,
firmly.
But after the ticket had been handed te
him and he had placed It In his pocket, he
looked anxiously about to see if anyone
had been watching or listening. No one
had been, so far as he could see. but not
ten feet away a calm. Impassive-faced
policeman stood stiffly at his post.
Parton wondered if the man bad heard
htm. He wondered how he would have
acted if, before he had heard the name
given at the booking office, he had been
notified by his superiors at Scotland Yard
that any man who gave It was to be taken
in charge.
From the booking office Parton went
again Into the train shed, but lingered
there a moment only before he turned
back and entered another passage which
led from it to the hotel elevator. A
nimble porter In the hotel livery offered to
take his bag. He refused the aid and car
ried it himself as he went up on the ele
vator and entered the hotel office.
Here he first inquired about the trains for
Paris, and then asked the clerk if he
could get a room. When he was answered
In the affirmative he signed a name on the
hotel register, but it was not the one wlilch
he had given to the ticket agent.
The clerk called a boy, and, giving the
key to him, told him to take the gentle
man's bag and show him to his room.
There waa a little struggle In Partona