The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-22

statue stood was large and not well
| lighted. BY night there Were few peo-
pie astir in its vicinity, and the police
seemed never to look that way. So
much he CLEANED by one nights obser-
walton; and he decided to make the at
tempt That he could secure possess
sion of the ring and escape immediate
arrest was nearly certain. The only
| danger was that, as Spanish thieves
were known to shun this adventure,
! there might be a roundup" of all sus-
| picious characters from foreign parts,
as soon as the city's loss should be dis
covered. In that case Pinney could not
hope to avoid being taken into custody,
| for he had not the means to leave the
| city on short notice. 1t would be neces-
sary first to sell one of the smaller jew
els from the ring.
These considerations impelled him
to prepare hiding place for the ring,
| and he decided to secrete il in the heel
of one of his shoes. With this end in
view he removed the lowest lift of the
| heel and cut out enough of the leather
| beneath to make room for his precious
booty. Then he replaced the lift in such
way that it could be quickly wrenched
off. and readily put on again with the
| ring beneath. His plan was to run for
the nearest dark corner the instant that
he had taken the jewel fl ON the statues
neck; and, having hidden it, to return
to the inn where he was living and
there calmly await the inevitable arrest,
trusting for ultimate freedom to his
protestations of innocence supported by
the failure of the authorities TO find the
stolen property.
The succeeding night was admirably
suited for the adventure. IT was very
dark, and there was high wind with
sudden and violent showers. There was
little to fear from chance wayfarers, OF,
indeed from the police, unless the Off
GERS differed radically from those with
whose habits Pinney had become famil-
lar in his native land.
The city seemed as empty as q desert
when Pinney stole through the square
at midnight; and, as he crouched in the
shadow of the pedestal on which the
statue stood, he felt only such fear as
was engendered by the mystery of the
affair. This, despite his lack of super
stitous tendency, thrilled him to the
heart. The mere novelty of the situa
tion was a strain upon the nerves. He
had often matched his cunning against
bolts and locks and armed guards. He
had riskCd his life for thousandth
part of the value of the jewels that
Sparkled in the dead monarCh's luCklesS
ring. 1t was the greatest stake for
which the criminal had ever played, and
the risk seemed incOmparably the
smallest that he had oyer taken in a
similar adventure. His mind could not
reconcile the two extremes. His i'm
agination made the danger match the
prize, and tortured him with apprehen-
sions quite as narrowing as any that
could have been cOniured up in the soul
of the most supcrstitious believer in the
curse of the ring and the power of the
saint.
The voice of caution would be always
saying: ut cannot be possible that the
ring is unguardcd. There must be a
hidden watchman; the ring is mechan-
ically protected. An electric flash may
strike you dead when you touch it. Per-
haps your hand upon the ring may light
a thousand lamps around this square,
and you may be shot by the assembling
guards, like some wild animal taken in
q snare"
These terrors crowded in upon him
more and more strongly as he leaned
against the wet stone of the pedestal,
trying to recover his breath lost in the
run across the square. But the longer
he waited. the shorter he breathed: and
by this he knew that he was afraid.
l. g.g.tn Of
him. These black Spanlards were play
ing with him. They would have him
in their clutches in another moment
1t is customary to speak of the recl-
less daring of criminals. They are
thought to be below the level of the
fears that torment sensitive men of
highly organized moral natures. But
that is an error. Thieves. for instance,
suffer aEonies of fear, but the strong
criminal instinct drives them forward,
as the d1unkard is driven to the cup
through the midst of the torments Of
remorse.
Jack Pinney may not have reasoned
upon this subject. as he lay trembling
in the shadow of that statue, but he
knew instinctively that he must stim-
ulate his thief-craving or become the
helpless prey of terror. SO he forced
himself to think of the ring as he had
seen it in the sunlight. flashing upon
the throat OF the image. Its jewels
We're bare in the sight of all men. Only
a slender golden cord held it. Only the
superstition of a people that he de-
spised protected it. He would have it.
He would not be turned back from his
enterprise.
With his thoughts upon the ring
he was much firmer. His breath ceas-
ed to come in gasps, and his heart
made less noise in his Breast. Slowly
he began to creep around the base of
the statue to the point which he had