LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1566, 25 February 1879, Page 3

LITERATURE.

LADY CHARMEIGH'S DIAMONDS. f" London Society."] (Concluded,) * Well, but, Patty, thia is surely a foolish resolution. Why does not Charles Brown stay in England ? I told you he should have money until he had procured himself & new situation' ' It's all of no use, my lady. He wants to go to America to better himself. He's not the sort to be a footman, my lady; suoh work isn't good enough for him.' ' But he may go farther to fare worse—you should te'l him that ; and in any case, you, Patty, ought not to leave this country until you are sure of finding a home elsewhere.'

'I can't let Charles go alone, my lady ; he would be taking up with some other girl if I did ' ' I am afraid you will regret acting with thispreo'pitation.' ' Perhaps I shall, my lady ; but ft can't be helped. What I'm most sorry for is the leaving vou.' Hereupon Patty Ragglesburst out crying in earnest. Lady Oharmeigh could not see laughter without laughing, nor tears without weeping ; so when her maid had left the room ehe sat flown to have » good cry, all com fortably by herself. This 'y and by prodaced a reacti -a under the form of a desire to go to bed and put disagreeables out of mind. But wheri her ladyship was undressed the sleepiness wore off, and she felt rather inclined to have a cup of tea and read a novel. Ho she wrapped herself in her dressing-robe and sat down in a cosy armchair opposite the fire, with an amusing book on her lap. It was then nearly midnight, and Patty, after having set the teatray, retired to reßt. Presently Lady Charmeigh heard the servants putting the chain to the hall-door, and the house became silent. By this time the amusing book had produced the usual effect, and Lady Cheris eigh felt drowsy. She closed her eyes, and sank into an agreeable doze. This had lasted, perhap?, an hour, when she was abruptly roused by a sensation of somebody being present in the room. Phe opened her eyes, and to ber speechless stupefaction saw two tall men standing before her with crape masks on their faces, o scream was impos-ible in the h'deous terror eh* felt; she could only ris« to her feet and murmur inarticnUte'y, whilst her eyes were distended to twi?e their natural Biz \ Her braia swam and she had a vague idea that she was dreaming; but this thought was soon d 1 spelled. ' Now, ma'am, we're not g"irg to hurt you if you don't rrak« a noise ' said one of the men rather kindly than gruffly 'lf you scream, see this ;' aud he held up the naked blade of a razor.

• But what do you want ? faltered Lady Charmeigh, who was blanched of all color, and could hardly speak her words. 'Your jewels, ma'am. Give us your keys. Sit quiet, and we sha'nt touch you.' • Never 1' cried Lady Charmeigh, with the courage of the desperate. * You are wicked men. You may kill me if you like ; but, 0, help, O !' As she opened her mouth to cry, one of the men brusquely encircled her with his arms and held her tight, while the other pressed a handkerchief over her mouth and noßtrils. There was chloroform on the handkerchief, and so much of it that Lady Oharmeiga gasped. For a few seconds she attempted to struggle ; and then her limbs relaxed, she drew a deep breath, and sank back unconscious. Her aggressors gently deposited heron the floor. When Lady Charmeigh came to herself, after an interval of time which she could not reckon, she found she had been robbed of every valuable she possessed. The Charmeigh diamonds were gone to the last one ; the very rings on her fingers had been taken; her money, her watch, the silvergilt mountings of her dresßiog-case —all had disappeared. The plunder carried off was immens*, and the burglary had been managed in the most orderly fashion. The h-'uee was as tranquil as if no deed of evil had been perpetrated there. It remained tranquil, far Lady Charmeljjh made no outcries. Oddly enough, her first sensation on coming to herself was not one of terror. The burglars had not hurt her, and were little like'y to do so now that they were gone As soon as the perception of s forced itself upon her mind, as soon as she could grasp the extent of her enormous loss, and speculate as to what Sir Peter would think of it. Lady Charmeigh felt, above all indignation at having been outwitted, and a burning desire to be even with her plundererß. asked herself who these rascals could be ; and straight her thoughts flew to the suspicion that Putty must have had some hand in abetting them.

Why she thought th's it would have been difficult for her to say at first, but once the suspicion hid shaped itself in her mind, a hundred small side facts came to confirm it. To begin with, P*ttv's invariably officious zeal about the safety'.f the j:wels; then her recent low spirits and wayward manners; and, ag'in, her connection with that discharged footman. Charles Brown. It somehow seemed to Lady Charmeigh that b<iore fainting she had had time to recognise Charles Brown in one of the two burglars. If this were the case, then, popsibly, Patty and Charles had been confederates in the first burglary, and Patty's holiday had only been taken so that she might be out of the range of suspicion when the crime was perpetrated. All this was horribly black, but Lady Charmeigh's eyes seemed to see clear into many things now. There Is in some of those little women who are habitually frivolous a surprising fund of latent strength. It is not often brought into play; but when needed, it supplies an electrical courage and a large amount of cool craft. It struck Lady Charmeigh by Intuition, that if she wanted to recover her diamonds (and she did with a ventreanc), she mu*t make no but simply have Patty watched. She must also begin bi practising some deep dissimulation Accordingly, she neither rang bel«s nor summoned men-servants whose fidelity she could little trust —but she took her bedchamber candle and went quietly to Patty's room. For a moment she feared that the girl might have fled with the plunderers and their booty ; but no. Patty was in bed, and pretending to be a°leep. * lame pretence at best, for there was a csndle burning on the chmneypiece, and P*tty w»s but partially undre Red—two damning circumstances. Lady Charmeigh however, took notes with her eyes only, and said nothing to excite alarm. 'Look here, Patty,' she began, with forced calmness; • don't be frightened at what I am going to say; but there has been a b -iglary here.' 'A buiglary! 0 my lady!' exclaimed Patty Haggles, with well-feigned terror.

' Wash! dou't 80r«»«n, don't say any things hutJatea—we mtot k*ep our presence or mind' Lady Charmei*>h proceeded tonarrate the incidents of the outrage, her maid li»tenini; the while with haggard eyes and a nervous tremor in all her limbs. ' Well, I repeat, we must make no noise', concluded Lady Charm' ish quietly ; 'if we do we may raise some alarm, and' destroy all my chances of recovering the jewels. Only. as soon as daylight o mes, and you can leave the house without suspicion, you must go to Scotland-yard and aive private information to the police. It is not necessary that I should go with you.' 'Very well, my lady,' said Pattv, and Lady « harmeigh distinctly saw a )i,<ht shoot through her eyes. 'O, O, my lady,' added ahe suddenly, 'what fears you must have been in ! Are you sure you are not hu-t ?' 'No. Never mind me,'sail Lady Cbar meigh composedly. ' Try to go to Bleep ; I am going back to my room. It still wants two or three hours to morning,' Saying this, she went She bad admirably played her pari, and Patty suspected nothing. But the girl's duplicity and wickedness almost sickened her mistress, 'When the wretched creature goes out she won't go to Scotland-yard, I know,' soliloquised Lady Charmeigh. 'She will run to join that man Charles, and then leave the country; but I will have her followed.'

The night wore on wearily enough, *ut Lady Charmeigh was ready dressed and eqnipped when Patty appeared before her at eight o'clock, and said she was gofsg to execute her errand. Lady Charmeigh dismissed the girl with a recommendation to return quickly; but as soon as ever Patty was out of the house her ladyship put oft her bonnet and went after hr. She had to hide herself under the porticos of houses more than once to escape observation, in case the runaway should look round ; but she soon had the satisfaction of seeing Patty take a cab. A hansom passed immediately afterwards, and Lady Charmeigh hailed it. A policeman was standing near a lamp-post, and she beckoned to him.

• Here, jump Into this cab with me, if you please. I want you to join me in giving chase to some burglars, tke worat the world has ever seen. O, you have no idea what people they are!' Two hours later Lady Cbarmeigb had recovered possession of all her diamond?. The c*se was nevfr mentioned in the paper*, for Sir Peter and his wife were willing to hush up the matter. The plunder was all found in a house rented by Charles Brown, who, instead of being prosecuted, received money to go to America along with Patty, All this was very wrong, compounding of a felony, and so forth; but a% Sir Peter remarked, ' There has been too much fuss already about these Oharmeigh diamonds.' He had the grace though—and this was Lady Charmeigh's best reward—- ' A woman who can recover her as my wife did deserves to have them. H r wits are the best patent safes I know of '