Diamond Dick, Jr.: The Boys' Best Weekly — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

6 8 DIAMOND DICK, JR. OUT OF SIGHT. “Your case is different, sir. You are in authority, so to say, and as we have nothing to conceal here I admitted you to do the honors of my retreat in a hos- pitable manner.’’ ‘‘But why are you so bitter against the press ?”? ‘‘Because they would only make public what they saw, aud I would have to inaintain a standing army here to keep people away. Do not think I am a hermit to the degree of closing everybody out, however, for Iam not. J have my friends, and perhaps you will become enrolled as one of them.’ ‘That is too much of an honor to hope for,’’ said Bertie. ‘‘And now, with your permission, and not to bore you further at present, I will retire, and on the mor- row shall take great delight in viewing your retreat. ‘Then, too, I prasume I shall have the honor of meeting the ladies of your household, so it will be necessary for me——”?’ ‘“The ladies? We have no ladies here. Have you not heard that IJ am a woman- hater, along with my other peculiarities? There are no women here, thank heavens!’ This gave Bertie still more to think about, after he had been shown to the room he was to occupy. Verily, he had stuck a queer place and a queerer man. He was well named the mad mmillion- aire, he believed—-—— But then, was he so nad after all? Bertie remembered the thread that had given the signal of his approach, then the photograph that had been taken in- stantly and hurried to the mansion; to say nothing about other things he had noticed. For a private residence with nothing to conceal, Humphryes’ Hermitage was remarkably well protected, as it would be next to impossible for anybody to gain admittance without announcing their coining and passing under inspection be- fore they arrived. Then, another thing, what had become of the young woman who had come there that afternoon in company with the man? The man was one of those Bertie had met. He reinembered his stern face as be- longing to the man who had gotten off the train with the young woman. He had hesitated about making any mention of it, for he did not want to let it be known that he knew anything about the matter, but he was puzzled to account for hier. And then the upsetting of the table—it struck him that it had been an accident on purpose, judging by the look he had seen the man give Humphryes. And that man, by the way, was the one who had come there with the young ladv—— What had Humphryes been saying at the moment? Bertie brought the conversation back to mind as well as he could to that point, and decided that the last thing mentioned had been the conservatory which the mad millionaire was to show him on the morrow, and he decided to give that place more than a casual or cursory ex- atnination as soon as opportunity offered. But, Diamond Dick, Jr., did not think quite far enough in that instance. CHAPTER III. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE. Diamond Dick, Jr., was startled by a cry. It was a woinan’s voice, as he knew Instantly, and it came from out of doors. He had not undressed on going to his room, but had opened the bed and dis- ordered it so that it might be supposed that he had slept in it, if everything went well till morning. Instead of going to bed, he had drawn. a lounge across the door and lain down upon that, after examining the rest of the room. He did not trust the ininates of the Hermitage, after what he had seen. Springing up, on hearing the cry, he ran to the window and looked out, there being no light in the room. The moonlight was still bright, though the moon was now far inclined toward the west, proof that the time was near iorn- ing or at any rate long past midnight. His room fronted on the lake, to which the smooth, sloping lawn descended. On the left was the large boat house. Hait-wav between the mansion and the boathouse, and running toward the lake, was a woian. COMIICLoOo S CO