The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1897-06-04


a diamond merchant. who was with us
had put it at three or four Thousand
when PadiShah had shown it to him
and this idea of an ostrich gamble
caught on. Now ii happened that I'd
been having few talks on general
subjects with the man W no looked after
these ostricheS and quite incidentally
he'd said one of the birds was ailing.
and he fancied il had indigestion. 1t
had one feather in its tail almost all
white, 10y which knew it, and so when
next daV. the auction started with IT.
! capped padishnh'S - by 90. ! fancy |
was bit too sure and eager with my
bid. and some of the theirs spotted the
fact that | was in the know. And Pa
diShah went for that paI ticular bird like
an irresponsible lunatic. At last the
jew diamond merchant got il for
4. 1s5. and PadiShIh said { $50 Just
after the hammer came doWn-So Pot
ter declared. At any rate the jew mer-
chant secured it. and there and then
lie got a gun and shot it. Potter made
Il hades OF Il fuss because he said IT
would miure the sale %: the other three,
and PadiShIh, of course. behaved like
an idiot; but al of Us were very much
excited can tell yoT ! was precious
glad when that dissection MAS over.
and no diamond had turned up-pre-
ciOus glad. ia gone TO One-foTtN on that
particular bird myself.
The little jew was like most Jews
lac didn't make any great fuss over bad
luck: bU; Potter declined to 20 on with
the auction until il was understood
nat the goods could not be delivered
until the sal. was over. The little jew
wanted TO argue hat the case was eN-
ceptional, and as the discussion ran
pretty even, the thing was post poned
until the next morning. We had a live
~ dinner-tahle that evening. / can tell
YOU. but in the end, Potter got his way.
since it would stand TO reason he would
To- safer if he stuck to all the birds. and
that we owed him some consideration
for his sportsman-liEc behavior. And
IN" Old gentleman whose son was 4 law
yer said he'd been thinking the thing
over and that il was very doubtful if,
when bird had been opened and the
diamond recovered, it ought not to he
handed back to the proper owner. re-
member | suggested il came under the
laws of the treaSure-trove-w hich was
really the truth of the matter. There
=
was certainly foolish to kill the bird on
board the ship. Then the old gentle
man, going at large through his legal
talk, tried to make out the sale was
lottery and Illegal. and appealed to the
captain: but Potter said he sold the
birds as ostriches. He didn't want to
sell any diamonds, he said, ard didn't
offer that as al inducement The three
birds he put up, to the best of his
knowledge and belief. did not contain
diamond. 1t was in the one he kept
20 he hoped.
prices ruled high next day all the
same. The fact that now there were
four chances instead of five of course
caused a rise. The blessed birds
averaged two hundred and twenty
seven. and, oddly enough. this Padisha
didn't secure one OF 'em-not one. He
made too much shindy, and when he
ought to have been hiding he was talk
ing about liens. and. besides. Potter was
a bit down on him. One fell 10 4 quiet
llttlc officer chap, another to the little
jew, and the third was syndicated by
the engineers. And then Potter seemed
suddenly sorry for having sold them,
and said he'd flung away a clear 900.
and that very likely he'd draw a blank,
and that he always had been fool; but
when | went and had a bit of q talk to
him. with the idea of getting him to
hedge on his last chance. | found he'd
already sold the bird he'd reserved to
a political chap that was on board-a
chap who'd been studying Indian NOR
ais and social questions i'm his vacation.
That last was the L 300 bird. Well. they
landed three of the blessed creatures
at Erindisi-t though the old gentleman
said it was a breach of the customs
rcgulatiOus-and Potter and Padishah
landed too. The Hindoo seemed half
mad a. he saw his blessed diamond 90
ing this way and that. so to speak. He
kept on saving he'd get an injunction
ne had injunction on the hrain-and
giving his name and address to the
chaps who'd bought the birds. so that
they'd know where to send the dia-
mond. None of them wanted his
name and address and none of
them would give their own. 1t
was a fine row. / can tell you-on the
platform. They all went off by differ
ent trains. | came on to Southampton
and there | saw the last of the birds,
as | came ashore; it was the one the
engineers bought. and it was standing
up near the bridge. in kind of crate.
and looking as leggy and silly setting
for "A valuable diamond as ever YOU saw
If it WAS a setting for a valuable di;i-
mond.
How did it end? oh, like that.
Nell-perhaps. Yes. there's one more
thing that may throw light on it. \
week or so after landing | was down
Regent street doing a bit of shopping.
and who should | see arm-in-arm and
having purple time of it but Padishah
and Potter. If you come to think of it
Yes. I've thought that. Only. YOU
see, there's no doubt the diamond was
real. And Padishah was an eminent
llndoo- I've seen his name in the pa
pers-often. But whether the bird
swallowed the diamond certainly is an
other matter, as you say.''-San Fran
cisco Argonaut.
\ Bears IrsDchCfy-
Although bears have reputation
of being rat hergood natuTed than other
w.sc. it is dangerous TO presume on that
H..