"Knowlesworth Hall, the historic seat of the
Illingworths, was last night the scene of two
extraordinary events.
"Lord and Lady Illingworth were entertaining one of
their famous week-end parties at dinner when a daring
and successful attempt was made to steal the
celebrated Pearl of Agni, the largest known black
pearl in the world.
"A native Indian was found in a summer house in the
Italian garden by a servant. As several determined
attempts to steal the Pearl had already been made, the
safety of this remarkable jewel was at once called
into question. Lord Illingworth and his guests hurried
to the Temple room, where the great Pearl was kept,
and there found another native, who was promptly
secured. The Pearl was missing, and the strictest
search failed to bring it to light. It is believed
that the thief has swallowed it, a fact which it is to
be hoped that the X-rays will be able to demonstrate.
"Owing to gross mismanagement somewhere, the two
natives escaped from custody, and it was midnight
before they were again apprehended--one of them at
Dorton, in a state of collapse from fear and cold; the
other at Lingfield, defiant, but suffering from a
sprained ankle. They will be brought up to-morrow at
the Dorton Petty Sessions.
"Scarcely had Lord Illingworth and his guests retired
to rest after an exciting evening than they were again
alarmed, this time by an outbreak of fire in the
Temple room. Its cause is unknown, but the flames,
assisted by a high wind, spread with extraordinary
rapidity, in spite of the prompt measures taken by the
Hall fire brigade. Engines quickly arrived from
Lingfield and Dorton, but the supply of water was
totally inadequate, and it soon became evident that
the whole structure was doomed. At the moment of
telegraphing, the fire was raging furiously, but all
sleeping in the house had been rescued without injury.
"In one night Lord Illingworth has lost his great
family jewel and his ancestral seat. The 'Luck of the
Illingworths' seems to have deserted him.
"It is a remarkable coincidence that a fire consumed
the Hindu Temple of Agni the night that the Pearl was
taken from it by Major Illingworth in 1803.
"Agni is the Hindu God of Fire."
"Thank Heaven, Mary's safe!" ejaculated Travers. "I hope she hasn't had
a great fright." Then, after a pause, "And Ramma Lal caught, after all!
He deserved a better fate. What an uncommon good thing I got the Pearl!
If I hadn't taken it, the Indians would have been well on the way to
Bombay with it by now, and if neither of us had taken it, the stone
might have been burnt up. Would it, though? There mightn't have been a
fire at all. Rummy notion that Agni should blaze the whole show in
revenge for my desecration! It shan't interfere with my feelings of
satisfaction. I'm a public benefactor--an Illingworth benefactor,
anyway. I shall explain this to my lord at an early date. Hullo, what's
this? A lawyer's letter. I can tell 'em by the smell. What's he
threatenin' this time?"
But it wasn't a threat. It was simply an intimation that under the will
of Colonel Thomas Archer, a distant relative lately deceased, he, Danby
Travers, succeeded to the whole estate, a bequest made "on account of
intrepidity shown in the recent Iráwadi campaign." The income therefrom,
the solicitor added, was estimated at about £3,000 per annum, and he
would be pleased to have an expression of Mr. Danby Travers's wishes
with respect to the same.
£3,000 a year! Travers jumped out of bed and executed a series of
gyrations. £3,000 a year! That meant Mary. But did it? It was a fortune
to him, but how would Lord Illingworth view it? Well, if he didn't like
it he needn't. Mary and he were now independent of everybody.
He made his way to the Burglars' meeting in a blur of happiness. He was
rather late. Other men were there already, and they one and all
congratulated him.
"Aren't you rather premature?" he asked. "You haven't seen the Pearl
yet."
"Bother the Pearl," said Altamont. "We mean the title."
"What the deuce are you drivin' at?"
"Haven't you seen the papers?"
"Crowds of 'em, and lawyers' letters too. My head's buzzin' with 'em.
What is it this time?"
"Your cousin tumbled down some stone steps in Vienna last night, and you
are Lord Travers now--that's all!"
Danby sat down. This final stroke of fortune was too much for him.
"I can't say I'm sorry," he blurted at length. "Bertram wouldn't have
been sorry if it had been me. And I'm glad about the title because
of----. Here, I say, you fellows, what's come over the world since last
night?"
"The Black Pearl of the Illingworths has changed hands, we hope," said
the Secretary, who wanted to start the business of the evening.
"The Black Pearl has, and the Luck of the Illingworths went with it.
They've had a fire, and I've got a bequest and a title. Perhaps you
fellows'll be more superstitious in future. That's what brought my luck,
anyway." Saying which, he produced the Black Pearl of Agni.
To his unbounded joy and immense surprise Lord Illingworth received the
missing stone from London during the course of the next day.
The Indians had been remanded for a week, pending further inquiries, and
as they had obviously not stolen the jewel after all, Lord Illingworth
declined to prosecute, and they were released from custody. An unknown
friend interested himself in the natives. One of them, a Baboo, was sent
back to Bombay by an early steamer. The other, who refused to return to
India, thanks to the same unknown benefactor, was put in the way of
earning his living by teaching Hindustani. He has since gone over to the
Mohammedan faith.
With repossession of the Pearl, good fortune came once more to the
Illingworths. In making excavations consequent on rebuilding the Hall, a
coal seam was discovered, which eventually doubled the family wealth.
The Black Pearl of Agni is now protected from burglars by many quaint
electrical conceits. When the next anniversary comes round any Indian
visitors will have a very lively time of it.
Later on in the year a marriage took place between Mary, younger
daughter of Lord and Lady Illingworth, and Danby, ninth Baron Travers, a
nobleman who had been mentioned in despatches in the Iráwadi campaign,
and who was not unknown at Hurlingham. His clubs were the Marlborough,
Brooks's, and the Burglars'.