Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-04-24
Aurssed a good 'dcoi OF life s pitA.Mr,A.

cr, who was burning to distinguish him
| self. knew that this defeat would
ihakc him more pcrtinacious than ever
And so it WIS. Nov | had bought of u
k;,ffir some stones Of great value, and
bow TO get them out safely puzzled ME
not little. Some fellows under similar
circumstances had recently tried vari-
GUS dotlges which had long been ropu-
iar. false boo; heels. hollow riding whips.
/ and so OH. and in each case the din.
monds had been discovered with very
unpleasant consequences. For years "f
compulsory working at the breai>watcr.
Tor instance, may be the result. and
yct was determined TO chance it
rather THAN lose these stones, which
shall never forget for the trouble they
cost me.
After perplcxing myself day md
night-my enemy always lowering
nbout neft me-a sudden idea flashed
into my brlih. | hat h particularly
ugly bulldog who WIS of Il surly tisposi-
, ton, and was much laughed nj on nc-
count Of my fontlness for him. The dog
, wore Il thick collar which was heccs-
sity. und that collar gave The tile Tip
4
put the diamonds in them. As wns
leaving the fields. y, of course, potihced
on me. and affected certain amount
Of uncasiness. which produced on his
mind corresponding glee."
Here Downham paused and opened
his pocketbook, md from il he took the
photo of about MS ugly. ferocious and
disreputable a bulldog rs was ever usso-
ciated with heroes of the Bill Sykes
, class.
Isn't he beauty?" he said, fondly.
as he handed me the photo. Il shnli al
ways love that poor dog; he died OH the
voyage home from the absurd pre- IN
diccs or some of the passengers who
didn't appreciate his playful nntnre-ns
m pretty sure-and pushed him over
BOARD; ut any rate he disappeared. Yes,
sir, that dog got my best haul through"
Didn't X search him" timidIy
queried.
search him! Everybody gave him
ms wide berth rs they oould-tl,cy
were under del'isions about him. pretty
creature! No-poor Grip lay down.
while the clever Y WIS fussing about
me. ind growled nj him. Send that in
fernal dog of yours off, he said, irri-
tably. and little did he think when /
oncdicntly did so that he was sending
off the biggest haul of I. DIS he WINS
ever likely TO find. or course he found
nothing on me. and his rage WIS cau-
ton. However. he went off, and some
days later | started homcwnrds by leis-
urcly stages.
felt pretty secure by this time,
and carried the diamonds in my pocket.
However, us the train left the station
for Capetown, CHANGED to see ono of
the diamond fields detectives iump in
TO the guard van. That was n sufIicicn,
hint to me TO make things snug. but
how to get rid of the diamonds this time
could not sec, as Grip wasn't accom-
ranying me that journey. Looking
round the carriage, saw broken
black bottle under the seat. There was
my chche, rs the Indians say"
But surely the detective" I mildly
interpcscd, would have Looked under
the seut?''
well. suppose he would" duly re-
marked Downham, unless he were rs
ing an IDIOT as-some people. Dust wait,
my good friend. before you credit n man
with congenitaI idi0cy"
shrank bnck silent. lie looked
fierce and dagger-like, and on the whole
| began to wish I'd gone to Liverpool
| street for some other train.
What did" he resumed, was this:
wrapped up all the stones in pieces of
newspaper, and carefully PIT them into
The bottle. filling up the spaces by more
! paper ms tightly rs possible. Then !
locked carelessly out of the window.
smoking. but my eye always on the
guards vnn. When | saw nobody look
ing out+-of course the chnp thought
hadn't seen him, and WINS probably tell
ing the guard whit fine haul he was
going 10 make quietly dropped the
broken bottle clear OF the line. marking
the spot-one's eye gets well trained
out on the vcldt. you know"
AT the next station up came the de-
, tcctive. They have power TO search sus-
poets. you know, and | was accordingly
rnmmaged again. But this chap, q.
let's say, was rs unsuccessful and as
riled as y. OF course, ] hadn't din
mond about me. And much Indignation
did display. Some days later went
""Sh 'o tiie I)iice Wnere dropped nv
black bottle, found it and it's contents
intact. After that had no more atlven-
lures with those stones. and they
Inrtly-boughtm my place in the south of
France.
"fcs. they're very clever. those D. F.
DIS, and have many people in their pny,
both black md white, called traps
They don't usually make mistakes. but
they did in my case. What do you
thnk?" concluded Downham. empty
ing his glnss.
What thought certainly was not
going to say. and. indeed. hardly
knew where | was. 1t was an awfulex
perience for steody-going man of
business whose career has been as un-
fulfilled as duck pond. parted from
him. however. with much outward
cordially. but have not seen him since.
i sincerely hope he will remain at his
place in the south of France, which
shsii carefully avoid IL ! ever visit the