, 1897-04-26
A DEAL IN
From The Stolen Bacillu."

the taxidermist, recalling his youth OF
travel. Three hundred pounds!"
He looked at me over his spectacles.
I've seen another that was refused at
four.
NO" he said, sit wasn't any fancy
points. They was just plain ostriches.
A little of color, too-owing to dietary.
And there wasn't any particular restric-
ton OF the demand, either. You'd have
thought five ostriches would have ruled
cheap on an East Indiaman. But the
point was. one Of 'em had swallowed a
diamond.
The chap 1t got it off was Sir Mohini
Padishah, a tremendous swell a Pic
cadilly swell you might say up to the
neck Of him, and then an ugly black
head a whopping turban. with this dia-
mond in it. The blessed bird pecked
suddenly and had it, and when the chap
made a fuss, it realized it had done
wrong, l suppose, and went and mixed
floCll Will llo OlHClS W plGSCl VIC ilS
incog. 1t all happened in a minute. l
was among the first to arrive, and there
was this heather going over his gods,
and two sailors and the man who had
charge OF the birds laughing fit to split.
1t was a rummy way of losing a Jewell,
come to think of it. The man in charge
hadn't been about just at the moment,
SO that he didn't know which bird it
was. Clean lost, you see. l didn't feel
half sorry, to tell you the truth. The
beggar had been staggering owe his
blessed diamond ever since he came
abroad.
"A thing like that goes from stem to
stern of a ship in no time. Every one
was talking about it. Padishah went
below to hide his feelings. At dinner
he pigged at a table by himself, him and
two other Hindoos-the captain kind Of
jeered at him about it. and he got very
excited. He turned round and talked
into my ear. He would not buy the
birds; he would have his diamond. He
demanded his rights as a British sub
ject. His diamond must be found. He
was firm upon that. He would appeal
to the house of lords. The man in charge
OF the birds was one Of those wooden
headed chaps you can't get a new idea
into anyhow. He refused any proposal
to interfere with the birds by way Of
medicine. His instructions were to feed
them so-and-so and treat them so-and-
80, and it was as much as his place was
worth not to feed them so-and-so and
treat them so-and-so. Padishah had
wanted a stomach-pump-though you
cant do that to q bird, you know. This
Padishah was full Of bad law. like most
of these blessed Bengalis. and talked Of
having a lien on the birds. and so forth.
But an old boy, who said his son was q
London barrister, argued that what a
bird swallowed became ipso facto part
OF the bird. and that P%adishah's only
remedy lay in an action for damages,
and even then 1t might be possible to
show contributory negligence. He had
MT any right OF way about an ostrich
that didn't belong to him. That upset
Padishah extremely, the more so as most
OF US expressed an opinion that that was
the reasonable view. There wasn't any
lawyer aboard to settle the matter, SO
we talked pretty free. At last, after
Alden, 1t appears that he came round 10
the general opinion, and went privately
to the man In charge and made an offer
for all Ave ostEjches.
The mex morning there was q fine
shindy at breakfast. The man hadn't
any authority to deal with the birds,
and nothing on earth would induce him
to sell; but 1t seems he told Padishah
that a Eurasian named Potter had al
ready made him an offer, and on that
Padishah denounced Potter before us
all. But I think the most of us thought
1t rather smart Of Potter. and I know
that when Potter said that he'd wired
at Alden to London to buy the birds. and
would have an answer at Suez, I cursed
pretty richly at a lost opportunity.
AT Suez, Padishah gave way to tears
actual wet tears-when Potter became
the owner Of the birds. and offered him
ESQ right of for the five. being more
than 200 per cent on what Potter had
given. Potter said he'd be hanged II he
parted with a feather Of them-that he
meant to kill them of n by n and
find the diamond; but afterwards. think
Ing 1t over, he relented q little. He was
q gambling hound, was this Potter. q
little queer at cards, and this kind of
prize-packet business must have suited
him down to the ground. Anyhow. he
offered, for 3 lark, to sell the birds sep
arately to separate people by auction at
q starting price Of ESQ for a bird. But
one Of them, he said, he meant to keep
for luck.
"You must understand this diamond
was a valuable one-a little Jew chap, q
diamond merchant, who was with US,
had put 1t ut 5000 or 1000 when Padis-
hAh had shown 1t to him-and this idea
Of IN ostrich gamble caught on. Now
1t happened that I'd been having a few
talks on general subjects with the man
who looked after these ostriches. and
/. quite Incidentally he'd said q Of the
birds wls ailing, and he fancied 1t had
indigestion. It had one feather in III
tail almost White. by which I knew It