The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-03-04
Story Of Sheer Luck.

! bv Ire descriptions Of the stone was & Mr..
! Iamorook. gentleman who had passed
! under many aliases in his career, and VINO
had only recently been released from
Portland, where he had been sequester-
ed for mistaking the proprietorshlp OF
| check.
As he read Of the great diamond his
eyes spanked at tn thought Of its worth.
There il was-e100, 000-and you could put
it in your waistcoat pocket.
The ex-convict. as he pOndered over the
subject. knew the task was not an easy
one. The papers impaired the confidence
that it was in Bessrs. Bonsfield Brothers
safe at Bristol; but burglary was not IN
his line. There are grades Of refinement
! in all professions, and he looked upon bur-
! glary as vulgar.
The first step was to obtain the conf
! Gence Of the Bonshelds. To gel this?-an
! introduction. How?-to forge II!
! without more ado he wrote short note
! to CongIeton & Co, the celebrated dia-
mond merchants of HatJCn Garden, ask
| ing them if they would care to buy some
OLD family Jewels. and received a reply
/ expressing their Willingness to inspect
! them After studiously examining the
Icaligraphy Of their letter with magni-
/ flying lens he set himself to practicing a
/ number Of curves and hOurishes on
sheet Of paper. An hours work seemed
1 to satisfy him, and he then indited the
/ following epistle:
"Hatton Garden, Jan. T. 1895. AIessrs.
/ POusfeld Brothers: Dear Sirs-As a client
/ OF ours desires to inspect your pink dia-
mond known as The Light of Guznee,'
with a view 10 purchase, we should feel
obliged if you would send 1t TO Us. Our
| Mr. Lamorock wiz call upon you a few
/ hours after you receive this letter and
VIII bear q note vouching for his identity.
( We shall be happy to undertake all risk
/ and responsibility for the stone from the
! time it is intrusled to the custody Of
Jur representative, ana We beg 20 re-
main yours faithfully.
"CONGLETON & CO."
When this production Of his pen and
/ brain had been carefully scrutinized, our
/ caIigraphist composed another short let
ter, which stated that the bearer was Mr..
| Lamorock, the representative Of Consle-
ton &, Co. He then went out and bought
/ half a dozen Havana cigars, four Of which
he steamed open and unrolIed. Smearing
/ the interior portion over with a lark,
! traacly liquid, he rolled them up again
with expert fingers and put them into
| his case.
! The first letter he had written he sent
/ by registered post, going down to Bristol
/ by the same train that took the mail. But
on his arrival there he waited for three
/ hours so as to allow Of it being delivered
/ before calling. He then went to their Of
! fee and presented his credentials, the
/ genuineness of which were not for mo-
meut suspected.
The Bristol firm. who acted with great
caution in al their business transactions,
| thought it safer that the stone should be
# 1ai
tive. and determined that one of their
partners young Harry Bonsneld, should
accompany Lamorock up to London, TAX
Ing it with him. This however, was a
contingency provided for both by Lamo-
rocks cigars and by a neat little revolver
/ that nestled in the pocket of his great
coat.
it was bitterly cold day, and a biting
east wind made them shiver in spite of
their coats and wraps; so much so that
they mutually regretted that the opera
! ton of securing n reserved carriage left
them no time to pay q visit to the refresh
ment-roOm.
! They had just seated themselves COM
/ fortabIy and the train was already in
/ motion, when an elderly gentleman with
a iovial red face and black bushy whis
kers opened the door and bundled himself
/ in.
Bonsfeld was annoyed and Lamorock
disgusted but as the intruder was profuse
in his apologies, and it was too late to
mend matters, they had TO accept the
situation with the best grace they could.
After the lapse of a quarter of an hour
ne had talked their reserve away, and
proved himself so amusing a companion
that they all became quite friendly; and
then Lamorock, who had grown suddenly
amiable, pressed the others into accepting
a cigar apiece. The jolIy-faced intruder
was not TO be outdone in hospitality. He
opened his handbag. and with a merry
wink produced a flask of curacao, which
the intense cold made particularly accept
able to them all LamOTOck. indeed,
found the liquor so delicious that he took
two glasses. Before they got half through
their cigars he noticed with suspicion that
the conversation began to slacken, and
that his companion showed a disposition
to so to sleep.
BonsGeld was the first to sUccumb 20
somnolence. and Lamorock even began to
feel sleepy himself. He fought against the
| sensation by getting up TO admire the
colored photographs beneath the hat-rails
and by trying to TX his attention upon the
passing scenery. He opened his cigar
case. counted and examined the contents,
and looked puzzled. He was apparently
! satisfied that he had not given himself
one of the drugged cigars, for he pulled
/ vigorously away at his stump hoping
/ THAI i would help to keep him awake. He
once thought that the fumes OF his COM
panion's cigars must be affecting him,
/ and opened both windows. But he found
J the Geld air had no effect. The intruder
/ also began TO look as if he would soon
/ follow Bonsheld's example
! Their respective struggles TO keep awake
/ however. grew more and more feeble un-
/ til the pair finally collapsed in their cor
/ ners. and slept as il they would never
+ woke again.
/ When the train arrived at Swindon juno
/ tlon The guard discovered than all asleep.
/ and after tryinE in Vain. 10 rouse them up.
+ the conviction davued upon him that IT
/ was a case Of foul play. The three pa
! tfarts were taken out and removed 10 the
! hospital. arrangements being made by the
police that on their recovery all three
should lee detained in custody pending
Investigations So. when they had been
{ brought round 10 consciousness, they were
/ token 10 the police station.
! Harry BQnsfel5 easily established his
! IDENTITY. and was set st liberty, but the
information that the police obtained about
/ his companions, thu reviewers they found
in both their overcoats, two tell-talo CT
ears. and two equally Camni1S cigar
/ s-rmps. the remnants Of curacao in the
flask and very suspicious false beard
I ali these incidents led 20 their arrest, t-.al
land subsequent conviction
/ Scotland Yard keeps the flask as curl
. oSi.v for IL has two compartments from
which the contents can be drawn ~ Jhe