Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-05-15
had laid out of my money. must own that
l felt pretty hunky over my bargain, and

pretty high, and proposed game of euchre
to my companions, just to while away the
time. 1 have played all sorts of games in
my time in all sorts of company, but that
game of euchre was a caution. 1t seemed
square enough even to me, but the cards GER
tainly ran agin me in the queerest way. So,
after losing quite pile, I thought it time to
give over and went to bed, thinkin' that after
all my diamond was some consolation. But
when, next morning, my friends did not drop
in to breakfast, as they promised, | began to
feel myself weakenin' on the business alto
gether, and made tracks for a great lapidary
down town. After examinin' the gem, he
told me coolly that it was about the best bogus
diamond he had ever seen, but that sham it
was, and nc mistake. You, sir, may imagine
my feelin's, not so much at loosin' ten thousand
dollars on the diamond, and heap at play at
that, as at the thought that l, Cool Nat, of
San Joaquin, had been gobbled by couple of
New York dead-beats guess my language
was pretty heavy, when, just as I had cussed
all the wool off my new overcoat, an idea
knocked agin' my brain and struck in at once:
enquired where the greatest jeweller and
diamond merchant in the city kept, and after
showing him my bogus gem, and swearing
him to secresy, asked if he could find me a
real diamond like it.
"He told me he would do his level best to
match it, and did so within three hours,
charging me $4,000 for the stone. I then
had it set in the ring in place of my bogus
one, and, putting Colonel Bogus in my pocket
walked into the bar Of my hotel. AS 1 had
Judged, there was more than two in the little
speculation I had suffered from: My friend
and his friend had cleared out, but I smelt
powder when I heard the talk run upon the
number of sham diamonds worn. Yes, sir,
said one young blood, dressed up like bar
ber's block; I guess them very big stones are
mostly bogus casting, at the same time, a
snaky look at my ring. I went on taking my
bitters quite silent, and seemed kinder wrap
ped up in my ring. But they wouldn't let
me alone, and presently got up bet among
themselves about their rings, and pitched
upon me as umpire, for, said one of 'em,
Guess that strange gentleman as wears the
Koh-i-noor ought to understand the, subject.
81 own felt very much like drawing my
six-shooter, and cleaning out the crowd, but
kept my temper, and said, Gentlemen, don't
understand small potatoes. Them little bits
O. things may or may not be genuine; but if
you want to brag on diamonds, 1 guess I'll
take the pool At this they kinder snigger-
ed, and asked to look at my ring. let them
look as long as they liked, but kept the ring
on my finger. At last one of them said,
That stone must have come pretty high, |
Judge Yes, sir said I; ten thousand dol
lars cash. At these words they sniggered
again. So I, putin on that l was riled,
rounded on 'em sharp; Il don't know, gentle
men, what you see to laugh at Then the
gracefullest and politest cuss in the party says,
quite solemn-like, 4 fear it's no laughing mat
ter for you, sir. guess you are stranger,
and I suspect some rascals in the city here
have stuck you with an imitation stone At
this pretended to rile right up, and swore
that bought the ring of perfect gentleman,
and had had no end of trouble to buy it at
all. The polite man stifened up his back at
that, made some remarks on gentility in gen.
eral, and wound up by offering to bet thous-
and dollars that my diamond was bogus, to
put up the money right away, and leave the
matter to be decided by any jeweller named
by the proprietor of the hotel.
"Then I felt that had struck lode, and,
turning round sharply, says, 'Lookee here,
sir, bets of thousand dollars is good enough
for small game, but when my word is ques-
toned, and my property is run down, l put
down my whole pile, and | will back my dia-
mond with my bottom dollar They kept their
faces very we'll, but could see their eyes glis-
ten, and knew that I had 'em safe. One said,
he couldn't put up much just then, but he
could fight eight thousand in half an hour,
and would stake it with pleasure agin mine.
Then another struck in, and thought as 4
didn't look satisfied with such a little bet, he
would back his friends opinion for five thous.
and,' and as I still kept on sayin' l was not
goin' to show my diamond except for bet of
twenty thousand dollars, they scraped up
about eighteen thousand among them. I COW
cred the money, and handed it over, with the
ring and a written memorandum, to the pro-
prietor. A lapidary was named, called in,
and decided at once that the diamond was
genuine Quite a considerable scene took
place, and the swindlers insisted on callin' in
another witness, and I nearly busted myself
with laughin' when they named the very man
bought the stone Of When he saw the
stone, his face was study but he never let
on that he had seen it before, and said only
that it was perhaps the finest diamond he had
ever seen in ring bowed to the company,
and walked off. To do my rascals justice,
they showed grit, drank the champagne
treated them to, and walked off coolly enough.
But the best part of the joke is to come.
"The story of my big bet somehow got
around, and all sorts of versions got into the
papers. I was interviewed pretty heavily by
reporters, and Colonel Nathan j. Cooling, of
San Joaquin, was credited with owning the
biggest diamond ring in New York, when
who should walk in but my friend and his
friend. The cusses evidently believed that
by some unheard-of chance they had purchas-
ed real, instead of bogus diamond, and
they were no doubt raging in their innards to
think that they had sold me in the first in
stance, and had put the gang in the hole for
eighteen thousand dollars. But the stone
was now celebrated, and they began tryin' to
work on me to let 'em have it back for ten
thousand dollars, as l had made such good
speculation in bets. The original proprietor
said he was in funds agin, and couldn't sleep
for thinkin' of his mothers ring. Of course,
he wanted it back to sell at big profit, and
to recoup the gang a bit. I declined to sell,
and kept him off and on till was ready to
start, and told him I must wear the ring till
1 was aboard ship, when, if he would pay
down the money in gold, he could have his
ring agin. You guess what 1 did? No?
Why the day before we sailed, 1 had the real
diamond set in the ring you see on my hand,
and Colonel Bogus put back into the old set
ting. My friends came on board. paid the
money in gold, stranger-nary shinplaster-