Evening star., 1897-07-31

THE PICK Ol
| the Yankee laughed, with still undisturbed
! good humor. Say now, I'll give you a
| pointer, as them sneaks of yours don't
seem to have got en- to it yet I'm gong
across to Freetown some time between
| now and Sunday On little private business
| of my own. Spose, now, / was taxing that
bit of shortage with me-what'll you lay
against me getting it through?
Ten years or the breakwater,' snapped
| the inspector, he emptied his glass and
| set it down with bang on the counter
NO you don't" laughed Salter; that's
| for ME to lay. Now, look here I'll lay you
| 10 years on the breakwater to thousand
! pounds-thats IS only a hundred a year, and
| l think my times a darned sight more val
| liable than that, so I'm giving you big odds
| that I'll take that little lot through for
| all you can do to stop me-.
AS he spoke he suddenly pulled his left
| hand out of his trousers pocket and held
| 1t out to the inspector with the palm full
of rough diamonds.
| Lipinski fairly gaped at the heap of gilt
| tering stones, but he lost neither his pres
| ence of mind nor his professional promp-
| titude. Like Tightening a revolver jumped
| out of his coat pocket and as he covered
| the Yankees heart with the muzzle. he
said sharply:
THAT bluff won't work, Mr.. Salter. I'll
see your hand for thousand now. If you
| don't want sudden death in your family,
| come along to the office. and account for
! the possession of those diamonds
To the added amazement of every one in
| the room, Seth Salter burst into loud
| laugh. and said, without moving out of the
| line of fire:
WAL, boss, 1 did think you had better
! eye for klips than that. D'you fancy I'd
| be such almighty sucker as to-good
| Lord. man. can't you they're all schleR-
| ters? There's no law agin carrying them
| round. reckon. Here. take 'em, and see
| for yourself. There's plenty of good judges
| in the room to help you.
A very brief examination satisfied the
disgusted inspector that the astute Yankee
had once more turned the laugh against
him. The things were 'schlenters.' or
"snyde iamonds''-imitations made of
glass treated with fiuoric acid 10 give them
the peculiar frosted appearance of the real
rough stones-which We're used chiefly for
the purpose of swindling the new chums
and greenhorns who were making their
first essays in l. D. B.
Llpinski saw that he had done him a
shot in the eye as the camp vernacular
had 1t, and put up his revolver with what
grace he could. The Yankee took his little
triumph very quietly, and asked the young
| lady behind the bar to oblige him with a
sheet of note paper and an envelope. Then
he wrapped up the false stones. put them
into the envelope, stuck it down, and asked
the inspector to write his name across the
flap. which he did, with peculiar smile
| on his well-shaped lips.
WAL, now, that's bet, eh?" said Sal
ter. as he put the packet in his pocket
Now let's take another drink it and
then go home. It's getting late and I've
got to pack. There's no KNOWN how soon
! might have to start"
The glasses were filled again. and the
Yankee clnked his against the inspector s
with as much cordiality as though they
| had been the best of friends, instead of,
as they were now, hunter and quarry in
a chase to the death.
The i.eXt day Seth Salter openly hired a
| cape cart and team of four horses to take
him to Bloemfontein. which is about 80
miles by road from Kimberley, and when
the bargain was struck he privately in
| formed the driver, an off-colorcd cape boy,
who had made more than one run of the
kind, that if he would start at midnight
| instead of midday, and go via Freetown
| instead of Boshoff. he should have f1U0 for
| that part of the journey alone, which was
not bad fare for drive of less than an
hcur: The boy jumped at the offer, and
within couple of hours had accepted one
of twice the amount, with half cash down,
from Inspector Lipinski, to- pull up at a
certain spot about 400 yards from the Free
State border.
That afternoon salter and Lfoinski met.
| as if by chance. in the private bar of the
Central. had a whisky and soda together,
and talked over the journey with apparent
ly perfect friendliness and freedom. The
| inspector affected to treat the whole thing
as a joke. a bit of spool that he was far
too wary bird to be taken in by
1t wasn't likely that such an old hand
as Salter would try to run anything but
| the schlenters, after giving himself away
as completely as he had done, at least, not
| that time. Some other time, perhaps, and
then he'd see. At the same time it might
after all be a clever and daring game of
bluff. and so it would be as well to take
precautions.
! Altogether it was an interesting situa-
| tion, especially for the inspector. If he
caught Salter with nothing but the schlen-
terS on him he would be the laughing stock
| of the camp, and if he let him go through
with something like a f15OOO packet OF
| diamonds-which he felt perfectly certain
| he had planted somewhere-his reputation
would be ruined and hi; dismissal certain.
| 1t was a desperate game, and Inspector
| Lipinsh was prepared to take desperate
| measures to win.
A little before noon Salter changed his
| plans, and said he would go the next day,
| and few minutes before midnight he got
| into his cart just outside Beaconsfield. The
| boy whipped up his team, and the cart rat
| tied and jolted away at quick trot toward
the border. The night was dark. but fine
| and they spun along mile after mile
| without let or hindrance Salter began to
| think that, after all. Lipinski had funked
| the trap that he had laid for him, and de-
| cided to risk letting the diamonds through
| than make a fool of himself by the capture
| Of lot of worthless schlenters.
| The lights of Freetown were already
| glimmering in the distance across the weld
| Ten minutes more would see him safe
| across the border with the most valuab Bile
| packet of diamonds that had ever been run
out of camp, and then-suddenly his strain
| ed ears caught the sound of a voice in the
distance. followed by the clinking of horses
| locks.
| He was sitting. as usual, on the seat be-
| hind the driver. and just as the boy turn
ed round and whispered in a frightened