Diamond Dick, Jr.: The Boys' Best Weekly — page 3: what you’re looking at

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

Diamond Dick, Jr. THE BOYS’ BEST WEEKLY. Qssued Weekly— By Subscription $2.50 ner vear. Entered as Second Class Mailer al the N. Y. Post Office. STREET & SMITH, 29 Rose Ste, N.S Entered Aceording to Act of Congress, in the Year 1897, in the Office of the Librarian of Cungress, Washington, D.C No. Go. NEW YORK, December 4, 1897. Price Five Cents. Diamond Dick Jr., Out of Sight; ? TN€ DISAPPEARANCE AT LOST LAKE. By W. B. LAWSON. Se CHAPTER I. THE STORY OF HUMPHRYES’ FOLLY. Lost Lake. It was not lost in fact, only in namie. In truth, it was very much found, if appearances counted for anything. A beautiful clearing on one of its shores contained a stately mansion, be- speaking a very wealthy owner. There were acres of well-kept lawn sloping to the water’s edge, and farther back were acres more under cultivation and set out with fruits. Besides the mansion there were many other buildings, keepers’ lodges, stables, etc., and down close to the shore of the lake atone point stood a magnificent boat- house. ° It was uot alone a boathouse, but a clubhouse as well, in which were a dozen fine billiard tables, besides other things to amuse, and a library second only to another at the mansion itself, which, of course, excelled it. But this was only one shore of the lake. » The opposite shore and the shore at each end were as wild and rugged as is possible to 1magine. That on the south, a mle away, was touched by toweriny cliffs of every con- ceivable degree of grandeur and 1ipres- siveness. At the ends was heavy timber, through which flowed the inlet and outlet of the lake, and if one but closed his eyes to the north side he could easily imagine him- self to be in the midst of a dismal soli- tude—a howling wilderness as it were. Nor would he be wrong, for such the surrounding country was. There was not another habitation with- in ten miles of the lake, so far asthe proprietor of the mansion knew. Albert Humphryes—that was the pro- prietor’s name—was a inan of wealth and whims, who had come to this desolate spot and wrought the transformation de- scribed. Aim an of imillions, money was no ob- ject to him, and the story in circulation concerning him and his location at Lost Lake was about in this wise, to make it as brief as possible without omitting any- thing essertial: Travelling in the West with a party of friends, he had come upon this lake hidden away in the mountains like a priceless emerald of some jealous god, and naturally he ingtiired its mame. Strange to say, the guides had never heard of the lake before—had never known it was thiere. They themselves were a little removed from their familiar trails, Humphryes conniclooolks CO