The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, January 06, 1916, Page SIX, Image 6
SIX
Copyright. 1315. by
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"THE
DIAMOND FROM
THE SKY"
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'
SYNOPSIS OF PR EC E DI N 3 CHAPTERS.
A bitter f< ltd exists between Colonel Arthur
Stanley and Mis cousin. Judge Lamar
Stanley, wealthy Virginia aristocrats. The'
ft ud has been engendered in family jeal- |
ousy for the possession of an heirloom [
known as the dap.u <1 from tire sky.
found by a noble adventurer ancestor in
a fallen meteor. The. feud is further I
augmented by the fact that the death of j
a noble kinsman in Lngland -makes the |
tlrstborn male of the elder branch of the
Virginia Stanleys heir to the Stanley
earldom in Warwickshire, as well as possessor
of the diamond from the sky.
Judge Lamar Stanley has a son, the presumptive
heir to both these coveted honors.
But a child Is about to be born to
the fair young wife of Colonel Stanley
When the child Is born and proves to be
a girl and its mother dies CVilohc I Stanley I
in cnagrin uiui disappointment ami aided :
by the doctor ami the ije.rye buys a new- 1
T>6rn gypsy male cliiid from iis unnatural]
and money greedy father. In ho doing j
Colonel !.<\v and those assisting him |
to cheat his enemy cousin's _ i
vhopes have believed the gypsy mother lias |
consented to the secret transaction. But '
Hagar. the motlicr, finds her way to Stan- i
ley hall to denounce her g.eedy' and bru-j
ta.1 husband and secure again her beloved 1
firstborn. She arrives Just as the supposl- j
tltious heir is being verified according to
the Stanley custom by the Kngllsh law- j
yer representing tiie IOarl of Stanley and
Judge Lamar Stanley, the colonel's enemy
and father of the hoy who is thus being
deprived of a ,<j and the diamond
from the *kv.
f
chaprea in.
y The Queen of the Gypsies.
1 Colonel Stanley fell . uncon-,
scions across the library table'
Matt Harding silently closed
tiie library door from the outside.
Ills right hand closed tightly 1
over the mouth of llagar. preventing
the weak and anguished mother from!
making an outcry, as before her eyes,
r
/' ^ "S .
v , yj
*F\ f *" - ^fo.
' ^ jwy j
Good Old Doctor Loo.
Iwfore the door closed on the scene,
he beheld her l>oy, her lirst born, ar
Ar ilOr JL. Al? CARDBLL
' *Roy L. Af c Car deli
elected as the best in over 19,000 subthe
Chicago Tribune in a $10,000 prize
The manuscripts in this competition
d States and Canada. Authors of note
part.
rayed In fine linen, a great jewel glow|
ing on his Kttle breast, the center ol
some strange aristocratic rite or ceremony.
So silent had been the struggle in the
hall that, while tho keen ears of Judge
Stanley had heard a rustle and a gasp,
his attention had been so taken up
with the anguish on the face of his
kinsman enemy. Colonel Stanley, as
the colonel tottered and fell face forward
on the table, that the judge had
lllirdl V heeded i hese v;li<'hr ovtrnnnunc
sounds.
As for Martuuduko Sinythe. the timid
and bewildered English representative
! of the Earl ??f Stanley, he. like the
Judge, was faring the swooning colonel
and also was unaware of the silent
struggle in the hallway?the struggle
that had caused Colonel Stanley to
i swoon, for the colonel saw in his
mind's eye the baring of his plot, his
own disgrace at undertaking it and.
worst of all. the triumph of his enemy
of blood.
Like a stoic Mammy Lucy, holding
the false heir, had netifrr stirred 01
changed attitr.de.
Pr. Lee. funding closer to the colonel.
sprang at once to the aid *?f his
friend and with all his skill sought to
revive the stricken man.
I town the hall to the great open
doorway Matt Harding hole his struggling.
silenced wife. The hank notes
in his bosom, the price of the sal(? ol
his own tlesh and blood, rustled as he
struggled with the frenzied, half stran
gled llagar. l?y the sheer for. o o!
his brutal strength the gvnsv dragged
the woman to the little copse where
their meager camp was pitched. Here
he hound her with ropes to the seat ol
the van. gagged her with his neeU
kerchief, hitched his horses and drove
off toward the dawn.
In the library the ministrations ol
I>r. 1.00 had revived Colonel Stanley
"I'.raee yourself!" the doctor whispered.
"Uememher, your heart will not
stand much of 1 his!"
"I am all right now." said Colonel
Stanley, moistening his lips. "Von.
doctor, will certify that this is a male
child born heir to the Stanley estates,
and I will attest that he is my son.
heir at my death to the diamond from
the sky and also heir to the earldom
of Stanley at the death of the present
earl."
The Knglish lawyer fumbled in his
green bag and produced the already
drawn up document of attestation
With a firm hand, but giving the colo
nel tt sad but searching glance as he
did ku, I>r. bee signed the paper as
physician In nltendance at tbo birth
The colonel Higiffcd as futlit*r of MArt!vr
Stanley Ud of Btnnloy hall, Virginia."
And then il was the I urn of
Judge Stanley to sign as next of kin.
For a minute In* faltered, a look of hitler
hatred on his saturnine countenance.
and then he aflixed his signature
and threw down the pen with a
bitter curse for what he did. A mock
ing smile played upon the face of Colonel
Stanley. For one brief moment he
forgot the flower faee of the beloved
dead woman upstairs. For one brief
moment he forgot the girl child born
of their deep love, whose birthright
had been taken away in the fulfillment
Of his hate for bis disappointed and
chagrined klnxtnnn.
A few brief and stilted farewells ano
perfunctory congratulations ensued between
the still embarrassed Knglish
lawyer. Marmndnkc Sniythc, and the
colonel and tin* <lo tor. There was
some evil brooding in the air. and the
aura of hate was felt by the Knglish
man of law.
' It is only a veneer'of civilization
that thinly covers these crude Yankees
In these wild parts." said the Knglish
lawyer to himself as he awkwardly
mounted his horse* in the moonlight
outside Stanley ball ami rode down the
darkened lanes behind the gloomy
Judge. "They jolly well would toma
hawk and burji each other at the stake
if they had opportunity." he added to
himself. "I shall start back to London
tomorrow if I can and deuced glad
of it!"
t'neventfully three years went their
round. The supposit itions heir at
j Stanley hall grew'"to he a sturdy little
ln/y of handsome appearance, but of
violent and ungovernable temper even
| as a child.
On the little girl. Ksther, reared it
secrecy in a closed chamber In tin
I great house and ministered to only by
! the silent and faithful Mammy Kuey
; the colonel lavished and outpoured tin
great and growing love and nfTectioi
of his iiivmItdcd ;iii< 1 aging years. l-'oi
already the 11;111<I of death was plait
upon 11iin Mini every day In* rode to tin
<toss upon the grave of his dead wif(
and prayed that ho might see hor fan
to face and he forgiven in the grea
! tenderness of the love tliev had horiu
I .
each other hi life, f??r the wrong In
had done their child.
Tlie fear of the colonel that the wll<
gypsy blood in the putative heir migli
bring him to courses that would dls
grace tlie Stanley name preyed upoi
the colonel.
And so the colonel drew up a docu
THE HORRY HES
i in?? mum? r~ t
uient. which h<> securely scaled mid
placed among Ids papers. Upon tbe
outside lie superscrllied It: "To be
opened in case my sou. Arthur Stanley
"d. ever does anything to disgrace
the Stanley name." This document he
left by his will in the care of Dr. Henry
I.ce. should the physician survive
hiin. as his executor. Then. too. the
colonel realized that he could not long
; hope to rear ids beloved little daugh;
ter like a tlower in the dark secretly
1 at Stanley hall. He was arranging
with the kindly old widower friend
and confidant. Dr. Lee, that little Esther
would be secretly delivered to him
and the doctor could give out the story
It was an orphan relative that he had
? adopted as his daughter. To this supposed
daughter of his dearest friend
the colonel proposed to will as much
i of his meui.s as would have come to a
, girl openly acknowledged.
Meanwhile the unhappy Hagnr had
been borne far away by the brutal and
ever watchful Mutt Harding.
With him a iiephew devoted to hiin.
I one Luke Love.ll. an English gypsy,
aided Matt in keeping watch and wm-.t
upon Ilagar without knowing or asking
why. And then Matt Unfiling fell
upon evil courses in his Romany prosperity.
anil ilrink made an end to him.
Ilagar succeeded to his gypsy wealth
and gypsy power. The king was dead;
long live the queen! Ills henchman
transferred his allegiance from the
dead husband to the living wife.
In the grim household of Judge Lamar
Stanley the shadow of cheated
hopes and blighted ambition fell heavy
upon the family. The proud and
i grasping wife, the cold and taciturn
judge, had one unifying cause in common:
that was that death might strike
Tho Au*a of Hato Was Felt by the
English Man of Law.
the lives that lay between their only
child that he might possess both the
diamond from the sky and the Knglish
earldom.
Such was the state of affairs when
llagar and her tribe came back to Virginia.
three yeaie after the death of I
the colonel's wife and the substitution!
of Iiagar's child as the heir of Stan
ley. Leaving her people camped at a
distance, lla^ar Journeyed to the
neighborhood of Stanley hall, and
there, hidden in the shrubbery, with
bursting heart, beheld her son ride
i forth, the pelted and pampered little
j nutster of Stanley hall.
Colonel Stanley, with the bov. was
riding < n his daily pilgrimage to tlu
i cress surmounted grave of his dead
wife. The road led him past the house
; of Judge Stanley. Looking from his
window after his enemy and the little
heir of the Stanleys on Ids |>ony beside
the colonel, the Judge was aware
of a gypsy woman wno stalked after
the colonel and the hoy as swiftly an I
as furtively as an Indian tracker. Sci:'.
I ing his hat, the judge ipiietly emerged
from his house ami trailed the gypsy
woman.
By the gate of the graveyard liagai
hid panting behind a huge bowlder
She watched so intently the bare head
el ligure of the colonel praying by the
grave of his wife, and she watched still
more attentively and with such a hun
gcring heart the little hoy upon his
pony by the colonel, that she was not
aware of the presence of the judge un
til his strong hand grasped her wrist
and his liaush voice hissed in her ear.
"Why do you spy upon themV" To
the starMod dlagar the cruel face of
i the judge was the face of a well re
? I inembered enemy. Her account of Jus
; tIce and retribution with Colonel Stanley
was between them alone. She would
nave no confidence In or dealing with
i Judge St:i 11 l??.v. For she knew instinct
holy that if he bated the colonel he
i equally hated and was prepared to
> harm the colonel's supposed son, her
? ; child.
? . Six; did not struggle or attempt to
free herself from the grasp . of the
* I judge. Hut as th?Tcolonel, with tin
? little hoy, rode from the grave toward
the gate she slipped down l>eside tin
\ 'Judge ami hid with him from the oh
t servathm of the oncoinors, as though
. she were an necompllee of the colonel'?
- enemy.
Neither would she speak in nnswei
. | to the Judge's rapid (ire of question?
i
ALD, CONWAY, S. 0.
r rr~~ nrTini ii
when the colonel anil little Arthur had
passed out of sight. She alTected a
sullen dumbness. And wlieu the judge
hailed a passing stockily built man
driviug a backboard, the constable of
the district, and gave her in charge as
a wandering mad woman Hagar would
speak no word.
That night, with gross disregard of
legal procedure, the Judge, alone in his
courtroom with his creature, the constable.
committed the silent gypsy woman
to the county madhouse, with instructions
to those in charge, through
the constable, that when the seemingly
sullen, insane woman spoke or was
ready to speak lie should be sent for.
CHAPTER IV.
What Will tho Harvest BeT
AFKEXZY of fear and rage overcame
her when site found herself
In the madhouse to which
Judge Stanley had committed
Iter without warrant of law. and she
screamed and struggled. The matron
i ami a burly warden overpowered her
! I..UK . 11 #li 1 t ...
j mm iiiiiu uui, piaceu hit iu a straiiJacket
ami throw her upon the cot in
the cell ami locked the clanging door
! and left her.
A wild idea suddenly seized linear.
! She staggered to her feet and gazed
i around. Above her cot, some eight feet
from the lloor of the cell, was a small
barred window. Ilagar listened for a
moment at the iron barred, heavy oaken
door: then she backed toward the
i table and pressed the lacings that held
t lie sleeves of the strait jacket against
the tlaine of the candle. The leather
thongs in the eyelets at the back of
the strait jacket smoked and burned:
then, with a great effort, she parted
the smoldering thongs. To release herself
from the strait jacket, now her
[ arms were free, wax but the \^ork of a
few moments.
Mounting the table, she drew up the
oaken stool ami with its sturdy logs
she pried the bars from their cemented
sockets. The ground was only some
ten feet below. She held to the ledgo
<?f the window a moment and then
dropped. She struck the earth without
injury and made off in the dark
ness. a free woman.
On this very night Colonel Stanley
had sent for I ho doctor to t :i !ci? away
lho littlo girl.
At Stanloy Im 11 tho oi l mirso was
preparing littlo Lsthor for tho night
joiirnoy. In his library Colonel Stanloy
gazed in tho lamplight at tho din
i nunul from the sky and tho sealod
document ho had proparod that would
betray tho Stanloy soorot. Ho hoard
tho sound of the opening of tho long
Pionoh window by tho lirop'aoo. and
there ho saw Ilagar entering. disheveled.
panting, but rosolvod to have hor
own. At this apparition tho oohuiol
arose and faced the wild intruder. "I
have oolite for tho child!" said Ilagar
hoarsely. Colonel Stanloy felt a sudden
pang through his heart. It was
the last^ shook the doctor had foretold
for liiin. lie gave a moaning, inarticulate
cry and sank back a dead man!
Ilardly knowing what she did, Ilagar
.swept into her bosom the diamond
from the sky and the sealed document
with other papers on the table. Then,
turning, she softly opened the library
door and as softly crept up the stairway.
Led by unerring instinct, she
opened the door upon the landing and
entered the room where the child, her
own son, the putative heir of Stanley
hall, lay sleeping. She marked the cle;
ganee of his surroundings as the risen I
full moon shone in the window. lightj
lug it fully. What should she do? If
I she left her child here she would be
cheating the cheaters. What, would be
the wild and lawless upbringing she
could give her son in comparison to all
that would be his as heir of Stanley
hall?
Ah she faltered she heard footsteps
outside, and. ga/.ing out cautiously, beheld
the old colored nurse descending:
with the little girl, the rightful heir of
Stanley hall. Ilagar huddled upon the
landing place and listened. A wild
shriek arose from the colored nurse as1
she entered the library and discovered i
her dead master. Then the bell rang
in the servants' quarters from the ner!
vous pull on the bell rope of the old
j nurse in the library. And shortly aft:
erward Ilagar could hear tlie nurse
' was joined by old Ned. the colored butler.
Just at this instant 1 >r. I.ee drove up
1 outside, and soon the great knocker on
mrn?mmammmmmmm^mamm?mmm?mm^mmmmm*?m?~mmrnmm??-.
11 Thf Colonel Faoed the Wild Intruder;
i ' - ?
I the front door was clamoring Its Iron
r I MUiniuona through the bouse. Two old
, servants rushed to the <l<K?r and broke
I
the news of the tragedy to the friend
of tlie dead man. lla.gar stole unseen
down the staircase i.iul Into the library
once more. There, cloaked ami hooded.
stood the little girl whimpering
i "Wake up. daddy, and kiss me!" IlaI
gar paused. "An iye for :: 11 eye!' she
muttered. Then. Lit !ug the little girl
in her arms, and stilling her cries of
feat* Mid alarm. II.: gar. with her burden,
passed out of the I ?w French win
dow by which she had first entered
and closed It after her.
As the doctor with the two frightened
colored servants stood over the
dead man In the library, and before the
old nurse had noticed the absence of
the child, llagar had come around the
mansion to the front. Loosening the
strap that held the horse, she entered
the doctor's carriage, still holding the
frightened little girl so its cries were
silenced, und drove away.
The next morning the news of his
enemy's death reached Judge Stanley.
With it were vague rumors and whi.s
pered suspicions. Other news came,
too?news of the cscnpO'of the gypsy
mad woman and the disappearance of
I?r. Lee's horse and buggy. The judge
j stayed not to rejoice at the death of
his enemy. He refused even to tell Ids
wife what strange business called him
hence, with a pistol in tlie holster at
his saddle side.
In a narrow defile in the Blue Ridge
1 Judge Stanley tracked down his prey.
| Ilagar had abandoned the doctor's ex
ha listed horse and the now broken gig
i and, bearing the child on her strong
| shoulder, was climbing the rocky trail
when she heard the rattle of horse
hoots and heard the voice of Judge
i Stanley < all upon her to halt. She
i ~~ I
Wasting His Substance In Riotous
Living.
turned to see the judge on horseback,
down below, his army pistol leveled at
her.
Ilagnr held up the child, not so much
to shield herself as that its pretty innocence
might soften the hard heart of
the relentless pursuer. Hut, whether
by accident or design will never he
known, the heavy explosion of the pistol
echoed anions the rocks. The bullet
whistled past the flinching Hagar
and the terrltied child. The horse reared
at the crack of the pistol, throwing
his rider, breaking the neck of the
vengeful judge and dashing Ids brains
against a Jagged rock.
Raising the child to her shoulder and
supporting tier there with her strong
right hand, ilagar looked down upon
her dead persecutor and called upon
him. with a gypsy's curse, the death of
the vultures sin? had predicted for him
when lirst they met. Then she elinibi
ed over the summit of the ridge with
her precious burden and was gone.
*******
Eighteen years have passed since
' Judge Stanley's shuttered body was
found in the mountains, the seal of
death upon his lips.
Heboid Arthur Slaidev 2d master of
Stanley hall and wasting Ids substance
in riotous living.
Behold Dr. Henry I.ee, pressed with
the weight of years, guardian of the
1 heir of Stanley and wondering what
1 will the harvest be?
!
The old colored nurse is dead, as is
also the old colored factotum, Ned.
There is none alive that knows what
really happened on that, tragic night
and in the tragic time that followed
j save tiie venerable old doctor and the
1 gypsy woman whom he has sought for
! secretly, but In vain, through all those
j years.
I While Arthur Stanley INI carouses
wit Ii his cousin and other wild companions
at Stanley hail and while old Dr.
I.eo muses in his study and wonders
what will the harvest be, the harvest is
close at hand. Kate, weaver of destinies.
in the shape of Ilagar comes
upon the scene,
i If the doctor has wondered if in Ids
hale of one dead man and his love for
another he has not done wrong Hagar.
queen of the gypsies, wonders, too, if
her vengeance has not gone all awry.
Esther Stanley, or. as she is known.
Esther Harding. Is u'lteautiful ami
sweetly dispositional young woman
.now. The wild mother love TTagnt
bore for the son that was sold from hei
has passed t<? sweet Est her. So it h
tliat Hagar returns to Virginia, re
solved again to sacrifice her very heart,
A wIM ropey camp la no abiding plac?
for a fafr'yohfig glfl of gentle )>loo<l.
Haghr knoftr* all the documents sh<
' took from Stanley hall when she ah
ducted Esther, knows them by heart
; as she knows every facet on ttie dia
i
I
I tfrom the *:>*. whiflV she wrung I
tV r nh'M fr?in the ! haml of Colont
l Rtniile.v She would sec her boy I
i?| 11ivi manhood. The wikl hope*
her tlUlt he mny full In love- Jk I
w!?!i lather Mini tlmt the secret that
onll* two IIvlni; people know shall rest 1 I
'! -!?I!v with the dead when Psthor is H
inhtross by marriage, if not by right,
of Stanley hall. H
Her message for I)r. Lee Is a written H
one. It reads: H
I have come back Rfter eighteen years. H
I I hfive hnil mv rrv?n en hni T .1? M
- --.J - - - V..p,v. IV? * r 1119
Klrl. What shall b? don? with h?r?
II AG AR HARDING.
Esther only learns from the kindly^ I
lips of the doctor and the tremulous I
ones of her supposed mother that a I
new life has opened for her: that she- 9
must take her place In the society of /H
the countryside as the adopted daugh- /
ter of Dr. Dee. as long arranged. This f I
Is all she knows; this is nil she Is told,
as with her belongings she bids a.
weeping adieu to the stern but kindly I
gypsy woman she has known as moth- I
etf All ber conscious years. And she ^ I
rides away as the doctor's daughter*^ I
from the gypsy camp. With Esther 5
the doctor takes the diamond from the I
sky. demanded of IIagar as part of Es- I
thcr's Inheritance. I
Hardly has the doctor's carriage de- I
parted than I.ukc Loveil, 11 agar's head I
man, is given command to strike camp. I
In an instant all is hustle und coufu- I
slott. Within an hour Ilagar and tier I
tribe are on their way. /J I
in three mouths. though the proud I
women of the neighborhood look I
askance. Esther is the belle of the I
countryside. The vine clad poivli ?if |
the * 1<>< tor's old house sics nightly 1
gathered there the .voting sparks of 1
Kairfux. * 1
Thou comes a night in .It:no, ami in 1
the moonlight are lour young men. all 1
paying court to the linppy Ksther.
Chief among them are the Stanley
coutiitis, Arthur ami Blair. Some slight \J
attention to his cousin. Blair, rouses "
Arthur to a temper of jealousy. I'rettily
rebuked by list her. Arthur leaves
in a liulf. Then Ksther vents her < oquettish
displeasure upon the till then
triumphant Blair, and he. now angry
also, arises and departs, halving the
field t<> two swains.
in Ins study that overlooks the gardens
at the side the old doetor is gaz- *
ing wonderingly ia the light of the
study lamp at the great diamond.
Sulkily straying by the house, in his
jealousy and anger. Blair Stanley sees
the light gleaming from the study.
Curious and not overnlee in his curiosity.
he peers through the window. lie
starts hack, clinching his hands, lie
remembers now the oft whispered suspicions
of his mother: "IM\ I.ee was
alone with Colonel Stanley when he ^
died. Who else but he has take u and
hidden :i\v;iv I lie Stanley heirloom V"
The obsession of tile desire for this
[irieeless Stanley heirloom ln\s been
born mid bred in Wait* Stanley. lie
hies nwnv. but t hut night, wlien the
swains have long departed and the
good doctor ami the fair Ksther have
Ionjr retired to slumber, Illair Stanley
returns prepared to break in and bear .
away the diamond from the sky.
In the library at Stanley halt tin?
young heir of Stanley muses and
dreams in softened mood of Kstlicr.
His guitar lies near him, and he picks
it up and gently strums it. In his
mind's eye he sees himself serenading
sweet lOsther Lee. as she is now called,
and begging her gentle pardon in the
moonlight should she come to her window
to listen. The romantic idea suits ^
his mood. He takes the guitar and
hastens again to the doctor's house.
Hlnir Stanley has clambered through
the study window, closed it and drawn
the shade. He has softly lit the doetor's
study lamp and rifled the drawer
of the old secretary and the cash box
it holds. He has sei/.ed the diamond
from the sky and clasped It in agitated
eesiaoy upon his bosom. Then upon
I 1 >
Som? Slight Attention Rouses Arthur's "T
Jealousy.
lila guilty ears fulls tlw? strain of a
guitar, llo hides the dlamoiul and the
chain and locket that holds It beneath
I his collar and under his shirt.
Meanwhile, sleeping the light slumlw?r
of the aged, the old doctor has been
aroused by the o(>e.iilng of the window.
, Candle In hand, he descends, to hi* V
study and enters Just as the last gleam
from the diamond In the lamplight, la
, shrouded by the shirt of the thief in
the night. There is a Quick, sharp
j struggle. FrenrJed with fear and
eovetousness and resolved to do murder
rather than lose the long coveted
heirloom. Blair Stanley, maddened
with fear and rage, strangles the old