Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-04-24


ct. who was burning to distingui.sh him
/ self. knew that this defeat would
raake him more pertinacious than ever.
And so il was. Now had bought of a
kaffir some stones OF great value. and
bow 10 get them out safely puzzled me
not little. Some fellows under similar
circumstances had recently tried rari-
Gus lodges which had long been popu-
lar. false boo; heels. hollow ridingwhips.
4 and so on. and in each case the dia-
monds had been discovered with very
unpleasant consequences. For years of
compulsory working ut the break water.
Tor instance, may be the result. and
set was determined TO chance IL
rather than lose these stones, which |
shall never forget for the trouble they
cost me.
After perplexing myself day and
night-my enemy y always lowering
about neaF me-a sudden idea flashed
into my brain. I had particularly
ugly bulldog who WIS Of a surly DISPOSE
ton, and was much laughed al on nc
count OF my fondness for him. The dog
, wore a thick collar which was a heces-
Sity. md that collar gave me the Tip
! removed IL. cut slips in the inside and
put the diamonds i'm them. As was
leaving the fields. Y, OF course. pouhced
ON me. and affected certain amount
of uneasiness, which produced on his
mind corresponding glee."
Here Downham paused and opened
his pOcketbook, and from il he took the
photo of about as ugly. ferocious and
disrePutable n bulldog as was ever asso-
ciated with heroes Of the Bill Sykes
class.
Isn't he bsauty?" he said. fondly.
as he handed me the photo. II shali al
ways love that poor dog; he died on the
voyage home from the absurd pre- in
dices OF some of the passengers who
didn't appreciate his playful nature-as
I'm pretty sure-nnd pushed him over
board; at any rate he disappeared. Yes,
sir, that dog got my best haul through"
Didn't X search him?" l timidIy
Queried.
search him! Everybody gave him
as wide berth as they oould-tlcy
were under delusiOns about him. pretty
creaturel No-pOor Grip lay down.
while the clever Y was fussing about
me, and growled at him. Send that 'n-
fernal dog of yours on he said, irri-
tably, and little did he think when I
onedicntIy did so that he was sending
of the biggest haul of !. DIS he was
ever likely 10 find. or course he found
nothing on me, and his rage was n eau
ton. However. he went Oft, and some
days later started homcwnrds by Ieis-
urcly stages.
Il felt pretty secure by this time.
and carried the diamonds I'm nv pocket
However, as the train left the station
for Capetown, I CHANGED 10 sec one of
the diamond fields detectives iump in
20 tho guard van. That was a sufIicien,
hint TO Inc 20 make things snug. but
how 10 get rid of the diamonds this time
! could not see, as Grip wasn't accom-
iGuying me that journey. Looking
round the carriage, | saw broken
black bottle under the seat. There was
my cache. as the Indians say"
But surely the detective" mildly
interposed, would have looked under
/ tho seat?''
We'll. suppose he would" duly re-
! marked Downham, unless he were rs
hig an idiot as-some people. Just wait.
! my good friend. before you credit n man
/ WIN NtHENuit2h
J shrank back silent. lie looked
fierce and dagger-lke. and on the whole
! began TO wish I'd gone to Liverpool
street for some other train.
What did" he resumed. "Svas this:
! wrapped up all the stones in pieces of
newspaper, and carefully put them INTO
the bottle, filling up the spaces by more
PAPER as tightly as possible Then |
looked careleSsly out of the window.
smoking. but ~ eye always on the
! guards van. When / saw nobody look
ing out'-of course the chap thought
hadn't seen him, and was probably tell
ing the guard what fine haul he was
going to 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 uD came the de-
! tective. They have power TO search s,,s-
poets. you know. and was accordingly
rummaged again. But this chap. II,
Yet = say, was as unsuccessful and as
riled as y. OF course, ] hadn't a dia-
mond about me. And much Indignation
cid display. Some days later went
Bach 10 the place where l dropped my
black bottle, found il and it's contents
intact. After that had no more adven-
lures with those stones, and they
partly-boughtmy place in the south of
! France
'Nes, they're very clever, those d. F.
D.s, and have many people in their pny,
both black and white, called '1rnDs.
They don't usually make mistakes, but
they did in my case. What do YOU
thnk?" concluded Downham, empty
ing his glass.
What | thought certainly was not
going TO say. and. indeed. hardly
knew where was. 1t was an awful ex-
perience for steOdy-going man of
business whose career has been as nm
Tuffled as duck pond. parted fra:..
him. however. with much outward
cordiality. but have not seen him since
i sincerely hope he will remain at his
place in the south of France. which
shSii carefully avoid if ever visit the
eoFaSfRcRt.-Chambers Journal.
Education In Old PEI