Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-01-09
III WHITE TOPAZ.

HOW 40 you KNOW!
Miss Josephine redeemed a little.
''0h, | thought | would just try 1t,
said she. And it works to a charm.
81 should think you would be ashamed
of Yourself, : said Mary the youngest scion
of the house of Bellfeld, who, with her
head aureoied around with a sweeping
cap" was doing" the boarders' rooms.
For Mrs. Bellfeld kept b%oarders, and a
hard time she had of it. poor soul. between
exacting old ladies, capricious young ones,
bad bills, and an inexorable landlord.
''Hold your tongue, Mary she said,
sharply. ''Dontyou hear Miss Parker's
bell? Run and answer it directly! Now
that she's gone, Josie, what's that about
the key? dare say he has dropped 1t
himself"
''No, ma ne always carries it on his
whisper. Look! I've always wondered
what he has kept in that box"
1T wouldn't be any harm, said Mrs.
Bellfeld, drawing a quick breath, ito
look right into it, just for the fun Of the
thing"
Nov that Mary isn't here" whispered
Josephine, as she turned the key IN the
wards of the lock belonging to a quaint
rude writing table in the center of Mr..
Wainrwight's shabbily furnishedbedroom.
LA, ma! it's as full of queer little drawers
and compartments as it can be! And do
look at these little files and screws and
buzz-saws and blades-the tiniest things
in the world!''
81 do hope he amt a counterfeiter, " said
Mrs. Bellfeld. ''Open that left hand
drawer, Josie; it, full of funny little tools
and, oh! do see that big diamOnd doesn't
it sparkle?"
For out from a velvet-lined subdivision
inthe tool drawer flashed a many-faceted,
glittering stone, seeming to create a sud
den brilliancy in the dusky orner
"Well, ] DECLARE, said Miss Josephine
with a vicious toss Of the head. IF he can
afford to own a diamond like that, | don't
see any sense in his owing you a quarters
board, ma"
He must be a regular miser, for all he's
so young" said Mrs. Bellfeld, excitedly.
81 wonder if it's an heirloom
ut must be very valuable, anyhow, said
Josephine. Il say, ma, do you suppose
it's a real d~iamond?"
'Why, of course it is! No imitation
would sparkle So"
I'D like to have Peter see it."
"Well, show it to him then" said Mrs.
BellfeId. You'll have plenty of time to
run down with it to the store before Vain
wright comes back to dinner"
Would you. ma, if you were me?"
ITO be sure | would" said the matron.
Peter ought to be a Judge of precious
stones, seeing he has stood behind the
counter of a jewelers. store for three
years"
but, ma, twittered Miss Josephine,
suppose he should find it out?''
He won't find it out. Do make haste!'
urged Mrs. Bellfeld.
Mr.. Puffit had Just made an excellent
sale of a t~riple-plated silver tea set to an
old lady from the country, who did not
know last years styles from this when
Miss Bellfeld huttered In, all smiles and
excitement.
Il just want to show YOU something"
said Miss Bellfeld, feeling in the depths
of her pocket. ''Oh! here's the box, but
the cover has come off. How awkward.
Where is it?"
There was the box, there was the little
piece of jewelers. pink cotton, there was
the treacherouS cover, but alas and alack-
,aday! the glittering stone was gone.
'What was it, anyway" said the puz-
zled Peter. eff it's anything that l can
do"
'Oh, it's lost, it's lost" screamed Jose
phine, and she straightway went into hys-
terics.
Peter walked with her all the way home,
and their two pairs of eyes scrutinized
every section af the pavement between the
jewelry store and the boarding house, but
in vain.
Mr.. Wainwright came home to the fru-
galdinner of the establishment, and went
away again without discovering that the
japanese box had been tempered with,
andit was not until he opened it in the
evening, after lighting his shaded lamp
and making every preparation for a long
interval of uninterrupted work, that he
discovered that the great, glittering gem
had vanished.
Inquiries were useless. Policemen
searched the house and questioned the
maids, private detectives Investigated the
antecedentS of the other boarders so effec-
tually that nearly all of them promptly
gave Mrs. Bellield notice; the great firm
of Slime 4 Sparkle, goldsmiths and deal
erS In precious stones, sent their own con-
fdential agent to look into things. 1t
seemed that the gem had been intrusted
to Mr.. Wainwright to cut and POLISH it at
his own residence, on account of his SUI
perior workmanship and the reputation he
sustained that it was worth a great deal
of money and could not be possibly dupli-
Gated.
Diamonds, indeed!" said Mr.. Dram,
the confidential agent. Its worth more
than half the diamonds in circulation. A
genuine white topaz. To be cut for the
center of Mrs. Moneybag's great tiara, the
celebrated tiara that everybody has
heard of I'm afraid young Wainwright,
will be ruined if it doesn't turn up. Our
firm has every right to prosecute, but
owing to the good character the man
bears, we give him the privilege of MAX
ing financial restitution. Twenty-Five
hundred dollars is cheap for hat white
topaz. 1t is absolutely unmatchable.
Quite sui generis, if l may use the express
sion. It's a good deal of money-yes-
but then it's the price of Mr.. Vain
wright future reputation"
Edwin Wainwright had been a poor
man-poor In everything but honor and
ambition. Now he seemed to be bank
rupt IN both. The white topaz was gone,
and it was a literal impossibility for him
to raise the sum required for Its ransom.
Il may as well shoot myself and be done
with it, thought he, sitting in the dusk
of the stufy little room, unpleasantly con-
scious that a detective wa watching the
house from the opposite side of the street,
and that one of the other boarders had OBJ
jected sitting next to him at supper. He
felt on the lower shelf of his cupboard;
there was a little six-barrelled revolver
there already loaded. Just as he tookit
In his hand there was a gentle creak of the
door q soft r11ctlInor across the H00T fhp