The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-07

amount to much. but might dress up from
SIS to $500 apiece Fannie Devlin said af-
terward that she looked up at Mrs. Bob
when she read that and Mrs. Boh's face
was whittier than ghosts, burt she man
aged to gasp out:
lord, Fan Them diamons was that
handful o gravel that tumbled out o. the
paper when l opened it, over by Brazer's
openin!
Then Mrs. Bob tumbled off her chair
in a dead faint, and IL took Mrs. Devlin ten
minutes to fetch her to. Brazer's opening
was a bare and sort of gravelly space
between the sidewalk and a little house
where Con Brazer lived. AS soon as Fan
got Mrs Bob in shape the two started on
the double-quick for Brazer's. believing
that they could find the diamonds they
enough, as they would look so much like
gravel that no one would be likely to pick
them up. 1t is more than probable that
they would have recovered the diamonds
Bob's wife had thought were gravel that
had got into ten paper some way in trans
sit if it hadn't been that Con Brazer
kept chickens. There was a good deal Of
snow on the ground. but Con kept his open
ing clear so his chickens could get at the
gravel When Mrs Bob and Fan DeVlin
got to Brazer's they noticed Cons chick
ems picking in the opening. but they
didn't think anything of that at the time.
They were too much intent on finding
the lost diamonds. They looked and they
looked, but not a sign of any kind of gravel
could they find except the familiar native
kind. BY and by poor Mrs. Bob had an
idea, and it made her scream right out.
ION, Fan, she cried, Them chickens
has eat EN-!
That struck Fan as being a plausible
tlrng The chickens had undoubtedly
pecked up and swallowed the rough dia-
N.aH.v
day gravel. Mrs. Bob and Fan hunted up
Con Brazer on the jump.
Con said Fan, Mrs. Jacobs lost some
damondsin your opening, and your chick
ems must have swallowed EN-. Wed like
to get EN-
THAT so?' said Con. What chickens
DO you suspectY
Now, there were forty chickens in
the flock, and this was a poser. There was
no way of telling which chicken or chick
ems had swiped the diamonds, and Con
said he didn't think he felt like wiring
ing the neck of forty to see which one
had Iunched on the rich food.
That Is said he, not for less than
81 per chick Them fowls is worth 81
per- said he.
Neither Fan nor Mrs. Bob had $40,
nor half of it, and it was necessary to
have all the chickens. Con said he
up the chickens on speculation, although
Mrs. Bob said he could take his pick of
the diamonds If they were found in the
chickens. So Mrs. Bob turned sadly away.
feeling that through her ignorance she
had probably lost fortune.
"As she and Mrs. Devlin stepped on e
sidewalk they met man almost face to
face He stopped, looked at Mrs. Bob a
second, and then exclaimed:
Ruby Totten, by thunder
why, Tom Laviner said Mrs Bob.
This amt your
That's what it IS. said Tom. for it
was he.
you must know that Tom was I'm love
with Ruby Totten over at Skillings', and
wanted to marry her. but she liked Bob
Jacobs best for some reason, and took
Bob Tom went away, and this was the
first he had seen Ruby since. Well, Of
course, she had hardly met Tom there at
Brazer's before she told him the whole
story about the diamonds. In less than
fvc minutes Tom had bought that flock
OF chickens and Wrung every one Of their
necks Then he had EN- carted TO Van
Dcvlin's. and the three of EN- went to
prospecting IN their crops. And they
found fifteen rough diamonds, probably
al that Bob had sent. After Mrs. Bob
got over her first outburst Of JOY. she
picked out the biggest diamond IN the lot.
There, Tom Lavirc. she said. I'm