Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-04-03
THE AZTEC OPAL.
BY R0DRIGUEs 0TT0LENGUI.
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they were to take the little steam lanncn
which was waiting to carry the detect
i've back to the yacht, Mr.. Barnes ask
ed Mr.. Mitchell the following question :
"Mr. Mitchell" said he, "you will
note that Mrs. Cortlandt alluded to you
as "a crank who collects gems. I must
admit that I have myself harbored q
great curiosity as to your reasons for
purchasing jewels which are valued be.
yond a mere conservative commercial
price. Would you mind explaining why
you began your collection"
81 seldom explain my motives to 9TH
ers, especially when they relate to my
more important pursuits OF life. But IN
view Of all that has passed between us l
think your curiosity justifable, and 1
will crafty it. To begin with, am
very wealthy man. I inherited great
riches, and I have made fortune my
self. Have you any conception OF the
difficulties which han ass man OF
means?"
"Perhaps not in minute detail, though
can guess that the lot Of the rich is
not as free from care as the pauper
thinks it is. :"
"The point is this: The difficulty
with the poor man is to get rich, while
with the rich man the greatest trouble
is to prevent the increase of his wealth.
Some men, of course, make no effort in
that direction, and those men are a
menace to society. My own idea Of the
proper use of q fortune is to manage it
for the benefit of others as well as for
ones self, and especially to prevent its
increase. "
"And is it so difficult to do this?
Cannot money be spent without limit"
eyes, but unlimited evil follows such
a course. This is sufficient to indicate
to You that I am ever in search Of
legitimate means of spending my in
come, provided that I may do good
thereby. If I can do this, and at the
same time afford myself pleasure, l
claim that am making the best use of
my money. Now, I happen to be so con-
structed that the most interesting
studies to me are social problems, and
of these I am most entertained with the
causes and environments Of crime. Such
q problem as the one which you brought
to me today is of immense attractive
ness to me. because the environment is
one commonly supposed to preclude
rather than to invite crime Yet we
have seen that despite the wealth of all
concerned some one has stopped to the
commonest of all crimes, theft. Z"
"Rut what has this to do with your
collection of jewels?"
Everything. Jewels, especially those
Of great magnitude, seem to be special
cause of crime. A hundred carat dia-
mond will tempt man to theft as sure
ly as the false beacon on rocky shore
entices the mariner to wreck and ruin.
All the great jewels Of the world have
murder and crime woven into their his
tories. My attention was first called to
this by accidentally overhearing plot
in ballroom to rob the lady of the
house of large ruby which she wore on
her breast. / went to her, taking the
privilege Of an intimate friend, and told
her enough to persuade her to sell the
stone tome. / fastened it into my scarf
and then sought the presence of the
plotters, allowing them to see what had
occurred. No words passed between us,
but by my act I prevented crime that
night"
"Then I am to understand that you
buy Jewels with that end in view?''
"After that night I conceived this
idea-if all the great jewels in the
world could be collected together and
put in a place of safety, hundreds of
crimes would be prevented, even before
they had been conceived. Moreover, the
search for and requirement Of these jew
els would necessarily afford me abun-
dant opportunity for studying the crimes
which are perpetrated in order to gain
possession of them. Thus you under
stand more thoroughly why am anx-
ious to pursue this problem of the Aztec
opal"
Several hours later Mr.. Mitchell and
Mr.. Barnes were sitting at a quiet table
in the corner of the dining room at Mr..
Mitchel's club. On board Of the yacht
Mr.. Mitchell had acted rather mysterious
". He had been closeted awhile with
Mr.. Gray, after which he had had an
interview with two or three of the 9TH
ers. Then when Mr.. Barnes had begun
to feel neglected and tired Of waiting
alone on deck, Mr.. Mitchell had come
toward him, arm in arm with Mr.
Gray, and the latter had said:
81 am very much indebted to you,
Mr.. Barnes, for your services in this af-
fair, and trust the inclosed check will
remunerate you for your trouble.
Mr. Barnes, not quite comprehending
it all, had attempted to protest, but Mr..
Mitchell had taken him by the arm and
hurried him off. In the cab which bore
them to the club the detective asked for
an explanation, but Mr.. Mitchell only
replied:
"I am too hungry to talk now. We
will have dinner first. "
The dinner was over at last, and nuts
and coffee were before them, when MIR.
Mitchell took small parcel from his
pocket and handed it to Mr.. Barnes,
saying: