The Argosy — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

Lady Ennerdale’s Fewels. 63 James, what shall I do?” she cried, and the tears trembled afresh on her eyelids. “Do, Mamie? It seems to me that the best thing you can do is to go to sleep again.” He so seldom called her by her pet name that she felt herself half forgiven already. ‘‘T am so very sorry ” she began. . “Not another word to-night, an’ thou lovest me,” said the Earl, as he laid a finger lightly on her lips. ‘It’s no use crying over spilt milk. The diamonds are gone, more’s the pity, but all the fretting in the world won’t bring them back.” ‘Tow I wish, darling, I could be a philosopher like you.” The Earl’s only reply was a shrug of the shoulders. Next day, which was Christmas Day, some half-dozen tramps were arrested at different places on suspicion of being implicated in the burglary at Fairmead. The following day saw all of them released but one. In the pockets of the one in question were found a set of skeleton keys. He had been seen loafing about for two or three days previously, drinking at this and the other low public-house, but never far away from Fairmead. In addition to all this, the account he gave of his comings and goings on the evening of the burglary was anything but satisfactory. He was remanded on suspicion, and Mr. Nugent Dawson and Lord Ennerdale were at once communicated with. Next morning the two gentlemen drove over to the justice-room at Crampton. ‘An ill-conditioned cur as one would see in a day’s march,” was Mr. Dawson’s comment as the prisoner was brought in. ‘““We should all have a hangdog look if we hadn’t been shaved for a week and had an ugly scar running right across one cheek, as that fellow has,” said the Earl. ‘‘ He’s not the sort of man, to my mind, who would be likely to plan and carry out such a robbery as ours.” The case against the prisoner was so suspicious that the magistrate remanded him for a week in order to give the police time to make further inquiries respecting his antecedents. At the end of the week nothing further had been elicited tending to criminate him. The grave fact still remained that a set of skeleton keys had been found in his possession, but it could not be shown that he was in any way mixed up with the robbery at Fairmead. The magistrate made up _ his mind to commit him for amonth as arogue and vagabond. ‘“ Poor _ devil! why not let him go?” said Lord Ennerdale, who was seated en-the bench... ‘““Do you really mean it?” asked the magistrate, in surprise. “YT do. I shall take it as a favour if you will let him go scot free. There is no case against him, and he has suffered nine days’ im- prisonment already. Surely a sufficient punishment for being taken up on suspicion.” Accordingly the prisoner was discharged witha caution to oun away from the neighbourhood as quickly as possible. COMIC OOO SS (C(O)