The morning call., 1890-12-08
THE MISSING DIAMOND.

found the door ajar. ! next turned my at
tention TO door opening upon the rear, and
found it securely lock- d, i'll which condition
it had been, so the President assured ME,
since the night before.
who has charge of the key Of this door?''
l inquired.
'Mr N, the cashier, has one, and our
janitor the other"
Can either Of the gentlemen be sum-
moned?"
Yes, both if needs be. Here, Warren.
run around to Mr. Ms and tell him that
wish TO see him Immediately"
The clerk addressed was abort to obey,
VIII en- sudden thought struck me. and
called him back.
You need not trouble Mr.. N; but if
the janitur can be found ask him to step
down for minute or two"
In less than two minutes the clerk re-
turned with the ianitoI-a broad shouldered
Irishman, whose answers 10 my questions
were given in such a straightforward man
ner that / at once eXonerated him from all
blame.
You lock up after the clerks have all
gone home. do your" inquired, looking the
man in the eyes.
eyes; sometimes I does. an sometimes l
uQtSn l, WAS TIE iaCOHlC IepiN.
when do you not?"
when Mr.. N worruks late O. nights,
as it has been much o late"
Did you lock up last Dight?"
."Yis, sur; watts more, tried every dure
afterWard."
AT what time did you lock that door ?"
and 4 pointed TO the front entrance.
well, as near as l can recollect. about
half-past swim"
Are you sure that you shot the bolt into
the socket?"
"Ay! could swear that I locked that dure
ami left it locked"
"How about the windows, did you fasten
them as weli?"
"Yis, every wan ov them"
VERY good, sir: you may 60 now, if you
like" and | turned TO the President.
Now. then, Mr.. j, with your pernlls-
The cd gentleman conducted Inc to the
vault below. The heavy iron door of the
large vault in which the bank funds were
stored stood wide open, affoiding view of
the interior, which presented scene of
confusion not unfamiliar to my eyes. Books
and pal ers lay on the floor III every direc-
ton, where they had been thrown after
gratifying the curiosity of the burglars.
stopped to pick up crumpled document
that lay at my feet, and as l did SO, the
sparkle Of a gem, heretofore concealed by
the paper, caught my eyes. With quick
motion of the hand picked the stone from
the floor and held it concealed in the palm
Of MY band, while perused the document,
more for the purpose OF coneealing the ex-
ultatiOn felt at having gained so important
a cew than for any other reason.
Having glanced at several other papers
similar TO the one had first picked up,
began n thorough search IF the vault, which
proved fruitiess; but the diamond in my
possession was sufficient on which 10 weave
a netu Ork Of ciTcumstantial evidence.
Having no further business at the bank
took NY departure, and went direct to Gel
ebrated jewelers. establishment in Somers
street The proprietor knew me, and intui-
lively guessing my business, conducted me
10 his private Office.
We'll, Tracy, what's up?" he inquired,
when we had become seated.
Nothing unusual" | replied 'You
have heard of the Clifton Bank robbery, l
presume"
1.-The Clifton Bank? Ali yes, did hear
some one Iemarking about it. There was
no account of it in the morning pauers"
"Nc, believe not. The affair was not
discovered in time for the reporters to get
hold of it. Well, sir, the bank has bee n
robbed to the tune OF 9G0O0, and | am en- =
gagged on the case"
"Huml indeedl Hope you'll catch the
rascal, old boy. A dreadful state of things
to exist in small city like this" and the
little man twisted uneasily in his chair.
" Not so bad as you may Imagine. Be
Clifton Bank will not be likely to pay you II
visit"
"Ahl hope your surmises are correct;
but pray tell NE your reasons for thinking as
you do"
Certainly. In the first place the bank
robbery is the work of one man, and lie is not
q professional burglar. In the second place,
that man cares more for bank notes than he
does for gold ornaments, and would not
plumber your place for all there is in it. In
l. 1
but threw it away rather than carry it with
him. 1t is very pretty. is it not?"
And / held up the stone to him.
The leWeler took it, examined it closely,
and returned it 10 me, with the remark cit
is, as you say, very pretty stone, and,
might add. very valuable for gem Of its
size. That is your clue, | presume ?"
Yes; the only clue L happen TO possess
Now. then, l am anxious to find the ring to
which this stone belongs, and you will please
allow me TO see the rings that have been left
here for resetting since the robbery"
with pleasure. Excuse me one mo-
ment."
And my friend disappeared. returning a
minute later with a number Of rings on a
tray, which he placed on table and began
to examine the labels attached TO them.
"Some OF these rings have been in our
possession number of days. All! here is
one received this morning. January 18th
diamond setting-E. Baker,"
And he read tie inscription.
] took the ring from his hand and exam
ined il. 1t was finely chased ring of vir-
gin gold, With the stone missing. fitted
the diamond in the setting and passed it to
my friend.
''By Joye, Tracy, that is the verv ring
you are in search Of! Now let me see."
And he went nearer the light.
Yes, there can be no doubt about it.
The stone fits into the setting nicely; and,
now that think OF it, it is Of the same size
and quality ordered"
"What name did you say the party
gave9"
Baker-Emily Baker,"
Emily Baker? Then it was ladyp"
presume so. AT all events, she looked
and acted like one"
when is she to call for the ring?"
Tomorrow afternoon
must see her when she calls, and in or
der that / may play my cards to better adj
vantage, ! shall enter your service as a
clerk. What do you say?"
II am perfectly willing, but take care
what you do, old boy; there may possibly
be some mistake"
a.. THAT is very true. and If such should be
the case you may rest assured that shall
discover it in time. Did understand YOU
to say that you had promised to have the
ring ready tomorrow afternoon?'
mo. sir; | said nothing of the kind. She
SAID she w2uld call for it tomorrow after
noon, and simply nodded assent"
Then lay this ring aside and leave tn
rest to me. l shall call again tomorrow
until then adieu!'
And passed into the street.
had thus far met with better success
than l had ANTICIPATED, and was nowise
elated or thrown off my guard, for knew
that l had sharper to deal with. whom il
would be difficult matter to outwit
During the day l visited several places
where ''ye game of billiards" was in full
swing, and picked several items of interest.
oil OF which tended to convince me that
was on the right scent
Early next morning / repaired to my
friends establishment, and was assigned to
position behind the counter, where. it is
needless to say, / felt i'll at ease; but wears