Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1894-05-10

diamond carefully and laid 1t down on
the glass case before him with one CON
temptuous word:
Paste :
Pastel | echoed Impossible =
Certainly, paste, and very good
imitation, he replied, turning away.
MY heart sank within me. Eighty
pounds was a sum I could i'll afford
to lose.
with faint hope that the second
expert had been mistaken, took the
ring to the jeweler who had offered
the American 5000 francs for it.
He seemed pleased to see me, but
as soon as he had glanced at the ring
his face changed.
This is not the same ring You
showed me Yesterday, he said in
tone that made itp plain that he thought
I meant to cheat him. AT Least, he
added, it is not the same stone. This
is not a stone at all-it is paste.
" 80 | have been told, l said sadly.
Are YOU sure the jewel l showed you
yesterday was genuine diamond
&" 4 am certain of it, he answered.
"The honorable conduct-as | had
thought it-of the stranger in refusing
to sell to the jeweler was now intelh-
gible. The jeweler meant to keep the
real stone. 1t was not difficult to see
how the fraud had been managed.
The swindler had had two rings made
exactly alike of a striking and pecul-
lar pattern. In one of them he had
placed a genuine and very fine dia-
mond. This was the decoy. In the
other he had put a false diamond,
closely resembling in size and shape
the genuine one in the first ring The
one he wore and offered to sell was
the true stone. When he got it back
from the jeweler, he had kept 1t and
had given me the sham one in exchange
for my ESQ. What was | to do2
THE first thing was to ascertain
whether my friend had left the hotel.
Of course he had-on the afternoon of
the previous day. Still the scent was
so hot that l fancied | should have
little difficulty in tracing him. But
when | found him my difficulties
would only begin. OF course he
would swear that he had sold me the
ring with the stone which the jeweler
had declared to be genuine. / might
conceivably have substituted paste for
the true gem as we'll as he In any
case, when | thought of the difficulty
of getting back my money from an
American wandering about Europe,
nv heart sank within me- Even If
the police consented to help me, taxi
ing my word against his, even If the
rogue were convicted, how was to
recover the 1000 francs?
These thoughts passed through my
mind as hurried back to the hotel.
Certainly the prospect was gloomy.
81 easily ascertained that the Amer
lean had taken the train for Paris the
day before, and determined to follow
him at once. l did not despair of
finding him, as he would probably put
up at one Of the good hotels.
"On the way up to Paris l could
think of nothing but my loss. This
fellow saw had hit upon very safe
and profitable method Of swindllng
In nine cases out Of ten the cheated
man would not discover his loss for
wears after he had seen the last of the
American, if indeed the trick was dis
covered at all, for the paste was quite
good enough to deceive casual OBJ
server, and the owner would OF course
be actuated by profound faith in his
diamond straight from Brazil. Had
it not been for the incident Of my find
ing the ring case. which the rogue had
accidentally dropped, l should in all
probability have unwittingly cheated
poor Turenne out of his money, and
he might afterward be supposed to be
trying to palm off spurious diamond
for a real gem. Insli probability the
fellow made living, and very good
one, by going about Europe and prac-
ticing this trick.
This idea sent off my thoughts on
new track, and by the time ! bad
arrived in Paris l had decided on my
course of action.
"First of all, / made careful inqul-
ries at the railway station as to a tall
American who had arrived from Nice
bv certain train on a preceding day,
and by the help of come > franc pieces
! I found the cabman who had driven
him to his hotel-the Continental.
This being ascertained, chose a