The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-12-17

pounds"
''Well that only makes my case the
stronger; don't believe that the maddest
man that ever lived would throw away Il
diamond worth more than thousand
pounds with such utter wantonness as seems
TO have characterized the action of the
orgininal owner of the stone which found
in your ninepenny puzzle, Pugh."
'There have been some eccentric chara-
cters in the world, some very eccentric
characters. However,as you say, VIC shall
see. | fancy that | know somebody who
would be quite willing to have such
diamond as this, and who, moreover, would
be willing to pay fair price for its pos
session; | will take it to him and see what
he says"
81 shall come with you
We entered the Hatton Garden Office
side by side The office was divided into
two parts by counter which ran from wall
to wall. | advanced to man who stood
on the other side of this counter.
Il want to sell you diamond"
Taking the crystal from my waistcoat
pocket handed it to the man on the other
side of the counter. Directly he got it
between his fingers, and saw what it was
that he had GOT, | noticed sudden CLEAN
come into his eyes
::.This is-this is rather fine stone. IS
Pugh nudged my arm.
i told you So. paid no attention to
| Pugh
"What will you give me for it,
DO you mean what will give you for
it cash down upon the nail ~
"Just so; what will you give me for it
cash down upon the nail?'
The man turned the crystal over and
over in his fingers.
swell, that's rather large order Wa
don't often get chance of buying such
stone as this across the counter. What do
you say to-well-to ten thousand pounds"
Ten thousand pounds 1t was beyond
my widest imaginings. Pugh gasped.
He lurehed against the counter
"Ten thousand pounds he echoed
The man on the other side glanced at
him, thought, little curiously.
Eff you can give me references or satisfy
ME in any way as 10 your bona fides, ! am
prepared to give you for this diamond an
open check for ten thousand pounds, or, if
you prefer It, tho cash instead,
started | was not accustomed to SEQ
business transacted on quite such lines as
those.
Well take it, murmured pugh, | be-
lieve he was too much overcome by his
feelings to do more than murmur. inter
posed.
"My dear sir, you will excuse my saying
that you arrive very rapidly at your con
clusions. In the first place, how can you
make sure that is diamond?"
The man behind the counter smiled.
II should be very ill-ftted for the posi-
ton which ! hold if | could not tell
diamond directly | get sight Of it, especi-
ally such stone at this.
"But have you no test you can apply"
awe have tests which we apply in cases
in which doubt exists, but in this case there
is no doubt whatever. | am as sure that
this is diamond as am sure that tits air
| breathe However, here is test
There was a wheel close by the speaker
1t was worked by treadle 1t was more
like superior sort of travelling tinkers
grindstone than anything else. The man
behind the counter put his foot upon the
treadle The wheel began to revolve, He
brought the crystal into contract with the
swiftly-rovolving wheel There was a s.
Ssh! And in an instant, his hand was
empty; the crystal had vanished into air.
"Good Heavensr' he gasped. | never
saw such look of amazement on a human
countance before. "It's splintered!'
PosTRCRIPT.
1t was diamond, although it had splin-
tered. In that fact lay the point of the
joke The man behind the counter had
not been wrong; the examination of such
dust as could be collected proved that fact
beyond . bouht II was declared by ex-
perts that the diamond, at some period of
its history, had been subjected to intense
and continuing heat The result had been
to make it rs brittle as glass
There could be no doubt that its origi-
nal owner had been an expert too. He
knew where he got it from, and he probably
knew what il had endured. liewas aware
that, from mercantile point of view, il
was worthless; it could never have been
cut So, having a turn for humor of
peculiar kind, he had devoted days, and
weeks, and possibly months, to the CON
struction of that puzzle. He had placed
the diamond inside, and he had enjoyed in
anticipation and in imagination the Al
naschar visions of the lucky finder.
Pugh blamed me for the catastrophe,
He said, and still says, that il had not,
in a measure and quite gratuitously, insist
ed on test, the man behind the counter
would have been satisfied with the evidence
of his organs of vison, and we should have |
been richer by ten thousand pounds, But /
satisfy my conscience with the reflection that
what | did at any rate was honest, though,
at the same time, | am perfectly we'll aware
that such q reflection gives pugh no sort
of satisfaction.
Receipt for Curing Meat.