The King’s Diamond.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XXIII, Issue 4045, 12 July 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

The King’s Diamond.

and will well repay perusal. The opening chapter's will appear .in our columns NEXT WEEK. (

OUTLINE OF THE" EARLY CHAPTERS.

THE story opens in the hop country, • Mr. Johh Theodore Straight,;.K.O., has been-ordered-by his physician for the benefit of his health. Sussex scenery is at its beet on this drowsy day in June, ’but Nature's summm- glories accord not with the active muid of the man of Xia*w, and tlie spirit of unrest urges him to slay the demon of ennui. Gossip appears to be the sole mental diversion on this Sussex farm, and Mrs. Wilkinson comes to his assistance with the latest news of Riverdale Court.

Sir Richard Chesney and his lovely daughter, Dora, are the people of the neighbourhood, but poverty, which respects not birth, has invaded the homo of this ancient family. They, are not "'bat they once were, and lather and daughter live in quiet seclusion, the baronet .pursuing the hobby of collecting and selling gems, curios and other valuables.. But heavy clouds are already gathering on the horizon of Riverdale Court, arid it is on the eve of tho storm that Dora meets her fate, in the heart of a wood where tho hyacinths grow. This meeting turns the whole current, of John Straight’s life. Love has slain the demon of Annul, but the spirit of unrest still hovers threateningly over .no young pair. Dora takes Mr. Straight to her home, where they accidentally meet the French governess, and Mr. Straight is introduced to Mademoiselle do Jude, whoso striking lineaments haunt him long. He has seen that face before. , Early the following morning, the cloud burst, but Dora and her father remember the close proximity of the barrister,, and turn to him in their distress. It seems that a diamond ol extraordinary value, which has been placed in tho care of Sir Richard by an Indian Prince, has disappeared from its casket, extracted by an unknown hand, Dora lay;3 all the particulars 'before the barrister., and John Straight sets himself to unravel me mystery. Ho will have Ins]rector Jadd on the scene. Tho thought of this clever detective friend calls up immediately a scene which reminds him of the identity of the supposed governess; and ho knows her true character. She is Sonia Kourap&tkin, the Russian adventuress and forgeress, who had stood before him. along with two male accomplices > only two years ago, in the Extradition Court at Bow Street. She had been allowed out on bail for on© week, when she and'the bailee disappeared altogether and to this day hqdnever been found. John Straight seeks Riverdale Court and Sonia Kourapatkin, for naturally enough he connects her. at onoo with the missing .diamond. His interview with her takes place - in the governess’s sitting-room, a small apartment .in a remote part of the housft- By ,a ruse Mademoiselle effects an escape, and John Straight finds himself a prisoner. Before ho is released Mademoiselle is. well on her way to London, . The author has now completely captured the reader’s attention, and tho subsequent amazing developments will be followed with eager and excited in ■ tcrest. • How tho- desperate ■ but wondrously clever Sonia eludes her pursuers, only to fall into the hapda of a ruthless tyrant; how Jftdd tracks Hie mystery' till it is solved .-and.^hb, diamond till it is found ;how Straight wins tho heart and hand of Dora ; how _ the arch-plotter fares in the end-all these things must be left to the author to tell in’her own way. Suffice bo say, we can promise our readers a highly exciting story whose interest never nags, and 'Which ends quite happily.