The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-12

NaA nor shy AANANFs the woman an
swered. He is i'm the hands of Fate. n,
can not escape the overwhelming sea. My
warning drove him. doubtless. into the
arms Of the great green Mother"
bah. YOU were wrong not TO have scared
him ere he came so close"
j should, father, but that took him "a
oe Nascano n the distance-you expect
Ave. sye-but he would not have shown
HimEet 50 near so early--the true kO-
niane know how 20 use the darkness. Lis
10 H.
The woman disappeared.
4 little reflection first suggested that
these people were gipsies. and that j had
come upon treir Illicit whisky still Many
such abound 20 this Say ia various parts
Of Ireland and nifty years ago were far
more common. Yet gipsies were not COM
mon in the Emerald Isle. especially as
whisky distillers and the apparatus
scarcely looked Ike that used for such
manuiactures IL Fas sorely puzzling and
Meanwhile the old man busted himself
about MIS- lGbOratory until at the expira-
appeared from behind the curtain. accom-
panied now by-tO De sure-the very man
! had noticed that afternoon by the fish
ing boat. and whose appearance so un-
pleasantly reminded me Of WardOur street
The first words he exchanged with the old
grey beard did not reach me. but the two
seemed % be acquainted and he evinced
no surprise az hnding himself IN so strange
a place. They converscd softly. but at
last / heard the old man saying excitedly-
You. my SON should not doubt the
power Of alchemy. You have that blood
In your veins which stirred the earliest
searchers after the great truths of the uni
verse. You have already reapcd profit
from the transmutation / have effected
in gold. The ruby, the sapphire. and the
emerald which / evolved from my intimate
knowledge Of their component parts, have
likewise told TO your advantage. Why
therefore, doubt the agencies OF this
mighty stone2 1t is Of the FIRST water be
assured. II will stand any test applied
~ the most skilled expert. I defy him to
distinguish u from the natural product
~ me mine. have worked as the Great
Mother Works-with the same ingredients
in the same proportions even TO the one
thousandih part OF a grain Her labora-
tory and mine are Identical, / have wrung
the supreme secret from her. and by using
suits"
lie was holding up 10 the light an object
the size Of pigeons egg. II sparkled
prliiantlN on enc side. and as he turned
II TO the other showed q rough ard black
ened surface like coal The new conner
took u, and examined IL carefully. Then
he said. with a sarcastic chuckle. and In
the unmistakable tones Of a vulgar Cock
ney-
Looks all right enough so far, but v
know, Father Jacomb. it's no good your
coming your hanky-panky talk to me.
i hat all bOsh so drop it, | know enough
OF jewelry to know no chemistry or al
out the genuine article That I know. so
l say drop It. The point is will this stone
pass MUSTER 1t amt a real diamond
and nothing can't make il one
My son my SOM" interposed the other.
depreCatingly.
No, nothing can't make it one. say.
Rut If II passes that don't matter. The
ruby and the others are easy by compari-
son; they've done all right 1 don't DENY
But coming the charcoal trick for dia-
nonds is very different caper. Stin,
mere we are; Wen try, and this day
tnree months, or thereabouts, YOU shall
near. But rather funk IT, so tell YOU"
Have no fear. have no fear" cried
ne OLD man Besides, IL is no trick; il is
pure ana holy science.
The speakers moved "a the other end
OF the apartment, and for a while | lost
their further talk. But l had heard and
seen enOugh-the secret was ont now
THIS was spurious jewe factory In those
days the present successful limitations of
precious sones had not been reached and
efforts were stil made to produce real
gems by the aid of alchemy. the philoso-
piers tone was still dream of fanat-
les and this Father Jacomb doubtless was
one.
After while Mr.. Vascano's accent was
again audible.
take charge of those two little bars of
gold, and II they resist the test and pass
I9r eighteen karat, they will cover our
risks for a time though mind Won we
shall still be out of pocket some hun,
dreds If this carbon trick fails"
Ihen there was more muttering. and
nnally | could distinguish the words.
must be in Cork by tomorrow night
l am OF TO the states for a month or six
weeks and shall pick up the next Cunar-
ger; she is due al Queenstown about
home again hope by Christmas. or soon
after You see, Jacomb, l shouldn't ex-
aetly have pad you this visit so soon
after my last, 'cept from being able to
take You on NpW
l don't relish this kind of tramping lob
a DIT; II amt in my line, and / hate this
country Almost as bad as l do the yanks
Bnt then there 1t is; my govnor makes
me do this dirty work, for he has con-
tracted to supply a diamond as big as a
pigeon $ egg, as the saying is, by next
June. I've got to see what l can pick up
from some OF your friends t'other side
though for my part this walloper Of
yours seems likely TO serve my dads
purpose. However I'm not master, and
now must be off. Aye, by-the-bye l
had almost forgot-hasn't your Maine
noticed stranger on the sands this af-
ternoon? a young man passed down the
village whilst l was negotiating some
herrings for my supper. You had best
keep a sharp lookout accidents will hap
pen. The natives are as safe as ever
they shun the rivers like a pestilence,
for the hunting boyle as they call IL scares
them None of them have been nigh the
place for years, but a stranger. and a
Londoner as | take it this youngster
was he won't funk the boyle"
The old man and the woman here spoke
in what l guessed to be Romany
All" said Nascano, that's Dutch TO
me, and worse. No odds-mind what
you're at-don't get blown upon, and now
goodnight / must walk across tho hills
and strike the road to Ballv-Narack be-
fore the sun is up. It's bad going after
the London pavements. Now let ME out.
missus."
He turned and came straight towards
my spy-hole. I shrank aside involuntar-
ily thinking perhaps he might be com
ing out that way, but the old man in
tercepted.
No. no. that's not an exit. but the land
has given way there. and we had to re-
pair the masonry with boards
''Humph" said NascanO, lucky YOU
don't get many visitors in these parts. or
they might Wriggle their way into your
mine, Jacomb,' and there was a rapping
and tapping against the boards as il he
was testing their strength. 1t was a re-
lief to hear the voices retreating once
more, but when peeped through the crack
again all was in darkness
l would have given worlds to watch the
departing visitor, but ! was a prisoner on
that ledge. / retreated to the mouth of
the cave, and was about to step out into
/ the moonlight when, glancing up ut the
ruin, ] saw two figures emerge from its
shadow woman and man. She pointed
inland. and he went his way disappearing
over the hills towards the country.
IA 5,-r, va -, o1iDe, u,ff1, ~ til. =.