The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-01-09
Select Story.
"WHERE THE TREASURE IS."
From Chambers Journal.

Very nearly quarter OF century ago
| was on terms of considerable intimacy
with an officer of the English police who
at this hour fills position Of high trust at
Scotland Yard At the time OF which |
write he was sergeant in The force OF
great provincial city; smart, alert, ambl-
tious and resolute to get on. lie and L
were in one OF two big things together. |
had got wind of gang of Russian forgers,
on one occasion, and was playing detective
on my own account, when the sergeant got
instructions to watch the same thing. We
met. understood each other, and combined
our forces. My silence, as a journalist,
purchased his, as an officer, and when at
last we bagged our men we each had an
Exclusive. We were engaged together
in conniying at the escape of as thorough
paced a swindler as might have been found
in the British dominions. There was a
reason for this connivance which may some
day make the story worth telling | lent
the sergeant an informal aid and eounte-
nance in the capture of desperate de-
frauder in his bedroom at the Queen no.
tel, and narrowly escaped being shot for
nv pains. When | went prowling about
the slums of that great provincial city, as
[ did pretty often, the sergeant was my
frequent companion. And when at last
he gained his heart desire, and was pro-
noted to London, | was the only person
in whom he confded the fact that the
capture which secured his promotion was
due to chance.
have never made notes of these mat
ters and the names of the people concerned
in this adventure have long since slipped
my memory, but the facts are clear enough
In the year 1871, and long before and
after, manufacturing jeweler, in large
way of business, kept shop in st. Paul s
churchyard, on the right-hand side as you
90 westward. The common kind Of work
was done at Birmingham; the better and
more valuable jewelry was the product of
skilled hands employed in small work
shop in Clerkenwell. The private clientele
of the house was small but the business
transacted with ''the trade was as large
as anv in London. Only one commercial
traveller was engaged, Jewish gentleman,
man of exemplary character and charm
ing manners; linguist, musician, judge
of pictures, painter in amateur, and a
finished expert in precious stones. He
had been II years in this same service,
and his employer trust in him was abso-
lutte. He drew liberal commission, kept
his own little family in solid comfort at his
Brixton home, was pillar of his syna-
gogue, a pearl among commercial travellers,
and deservedly respected | never saw
this gentleman, but can draw his por-
trait, and before close this story | will
tell YOU why He had large dark eyes,
which shone out of sort of velvety dull
softness, as a black heart cherry shines
when dew or rain is on it. He had a
well-shaped aquiline nose, and an olive
skin. His lips were shapely, but redder
and fuller than is common with men of
western type He wore his hair cut short,
and his beard was trimmed Vandyke fash
ion. The notable thing about him was
that hair, eyebrows and beard were of a
deep ruddy auburn, color handsome in
| itself. but little startling and bizarre in q
man of his complexion.
In the year 1870, whilst the sergeant
and |, unwilling Of this gentleman's ex-
istence, were hanging on the skirts Of the
Russian forgers, the commercial traveller
had submitted scheme to his employer
He had employed his taste and leisure il
the preparation of number of designs fol
brooches, bracelets, rings, tiaras, neck
lets and pendants, and he had designed
and drawn with beautiful delicacy cast
in which to display them. He estimated
the cost of the preparation Of this tray a
about e20, 600, and his proposal was tina
the real tray to be manufactured from hi
designs should be kept in the showcase a
St Paurs churchyard, whilst he shoul(
carry round with him tray of paste ant
pinchbeck in illustration of the style an,
color
Both trays were made. The real thin.
went in the showcase, and the bogus arti
Gle went on tour. The real tray was para
graphed in the London and provincia
newspapers, hundreds Of fashionable peo
ple went to see it, orders came in briskly
the new designs became a fashion, and tn
clever little Hebrew gentleman made 81
good a thing of his liberal commission tha
he was more than paid for all his trouble
His employer was, of course, eminentl.,
satisfied on his own account, but by an'
by disaster crept upon him.
The traveller made four journeys year
covering the three kingdoms on each ex
pedition He had started on the thlr'
round since the completion of the two trays
when the jeweler, by chance examina