The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1883-12-06
CAPE DIAMONDS.
A DetectIre storr.

A Detective Story.
With four other masculine fell0w-suf-
forer- one of whom was small spec
tacied. notwithstanding MANNED
Girard and myself were the suffering
inma,c, II a nondescript vehicle Of the
stage-wagOn pattern. drawn BY six
small Cape horses. on route from the
Bioen'ontcin diamond fields Of South
Africa for Wellington, thence b rail TO
Cape Town.
Two-third- Of the truly terrible Jour
ncy had already been accvmpli. h.i. vet
there were -till some two hundred and
f,ftv miles Of travel over sun-bcat plain
and arid desert befDrc u. with the mcr-
curry at lO2 degrees. in such shade
alone a. our tilted conveyance afforded
for, in truth. there Wa 10 other.
Our ewes were blurred and Blinded
by the cea-eles- glare Of the -un, whose
rays beat down On the sandy desert
from the UUelyudad sav. which va as
brass befoTe u. Our bodies were sore
and bruised by the uncea-ing jar and
jolt Of our rudcly-huny vehicle. We
wcr" par he'd with thirst. which the
lukewarm water along the route utterly
failed to -lake: and though .cOnt nuaiIy
drgwsy could neither -.ccp BY dav nor
hy night, bceaUs. If the intense heat,
the -and-hies, ,wcllcd and burning feet,
and intense NERVOUSNESS cngcndcred By
the foregoing. with the other discom-
forts and sgifcrings Incidental to q
stage journey of some hundred, Of miles
through South africa.
The most Of u knew each other by
sight, through having met from day to
a. f,.r 4 Oh 10.
mining field which we had left But |
viii venture to state that * more sur
", unsOcial fellow passengers than our
dusty, unshorn selves were perhaps
never literally thrown together
If Ned and my.eIf were perhaps n
little more pronounced in general dis
a9recabIene-s than the others, we CON
sidercd. indeed, that We had ample
proyocatiyn therefor. For thirteen
months We had been tOiling and perspir-
ing, taking our several turn, in the
"dump.' or in oar twcn'v-fOur foot
mining ca N, a. the case might be. In
nearly, if not quite, q year Of unremit-
ting toll, W. lad barely succeeded in
washing ont small stones" Nhc in
variable term for diamonds in South
Africa with which u pay our running
expenses; and then one stroke of the
pick unearthcd rosc-diamond Of such
she and purity that for full sixty min
utcs our good fortune was the talk of
BiOcm 'Ontcin.
Well, that night, after our frugal sup
per, Ned. without speaking, extended
the precious gem toward me in his open
palm, a. We sat at our rude table, in
our canvas-cOvcrcd cabin. | do not
answer for the scope Of my partners
vision. Of course. But in the uncut bril-
liant, a. in the magic.an' stones | my
self saw but one obicct-a sweet, visit
full face framed in wreath of dark
hair within the depths Of whose soft
eyes was look as of patient waiting
for the return of him who had gone to
seek his fortune in the far-away dia-
mond fields.
"Home?' was Nefs interrogative
query, raising his own eyes, which had
bent upon the gem, with sort of far
away look, to meet my own suddenly
upturned gaze.
Home echoed, with joyous en-
pha-i-.
But hardly had the word escaped my
lips when "A tall form dashed through
the door, and, upseting the candle by a
sudden blow, seized the diamond from
Ned's still Outstrctchcd hand. and wa
Of in the darkness-the whole event
having taken place in far less time than
/ have occupied in telling it.
OF course We gave the alarm as
quickly as we could regain our scat
tered IDEAS; but, though half the male
population Of Blocmfontein turned out,
1t was to no purpose.
The robber and his booty had disap-
peared. without the slightest clcw
80 it was that being ia local parlance
''down on our luck, Ned and myself,
Disguised and discouraged, had sold our
claim TO a couple of newcomers for
about E3OO, and with those composing
our present stage-coach party, had
taken passage, as have said, for Wei
lington, intending 10 return home, even
though with heavy hearts and light
pockets.
Besides the small. specialized man,
who had represented himself as sort
of cOlpOrteur for a religious society at
Cape Town, our fellow-passengers COM
posed two diamond brokers, together
with young and very bOastful fellow,
who called himself Macarthur. The lat
ter had been very successful, and it was
with feelings Of envy we heard him re-
late the result of two weeks work in a
deserted claim, where, as he informed
us with many profane reservations, he
had struck pocket from which he
had taken stones, whose value he de
clared was at least $4,000.
These he carried in belt about his
waist, together with a considerable sum
of money from the sale of his claim. as
he said, while girded TO either hip was
heavy revolver, as a safeguard against
possible attack from road agents.
After a wretched supper in a small,
barren-looking station in the HOogboom
Bottom, the journey was resumed with