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CHAPTER XI
THE VISION OF MISS KITTY MARCHURST
Everyone knows the story of Damocles, and how uncomfortable he felt
with the sword suspended by a hair over his head. No one could enjoy
their dinner under such circumstances, and it is much to be thankful
for that hosts of the present day do not indulge in these practical
jokes. But though history does not repeat itself exactly regarding
the suspended sword, yet there are cases when a sense of impending
misfortune has the same effect on the spirits. This was the case of
Madame Midas. She was not by any means of a nervous temperature, yet
ever since the disappearance of her husband she was a prey to a
secret dread, which, reacting on her nerves, rendered her miserable.
Had Mr Villiers only appeared, she would have known how to deal with
him, and done so promptly, but it was his absence that made her
afraid. Was he dead? If so, why was his body not found; if he was
not dead, why did he not reappear on the scene. Allowing, for the
sake of argument, that he had stolen the nugget and left the colony
in order to enjoy the fruits of his villainy--well, the nugget
weighed about three hundred ounces--and that if he disposed of it,
as he must have done, it would give him a sum of money a little over
one thousand pounds. True, his possession of such a large mass of
gold would awake suspicions in the mind of anyone he went to; but
then, there were people who were always ready to do shady things,
provided they were well paid.
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