Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-09-08

refused to give any satisfactory account
of their possession and strcnuously in
sisted on his hosts keeping the pledge
they had given, and holding their
tonRues-upon which the inspector and
his men did their obvious duty under
the circumstances, seized the diamonds,
walked Master Tom off to prison and
warned the Carnegies-father, mother
and daughter-that they would have to
appear the next morning at the police
court as witnesses and that any attempt
at flight would DO both useless and dis
astrous.
When his case came on the next day,
Tom was amazed, and Miss Lucy and
her parents were not n little dismayed,
at the formidable array of evidence that
was given in support of the charge of
illicit dealing and unlawful possession.
The accused obstinately held his tongue,
and they had bound themselves by q
solemn promise to do likewise. There
was, therefore, no evidence for the de-
Tense beyond tho bald and unsupported
statement that the diamonds in question
had not come ont of any mine in Girl
qualand West or within tho jurisdiction
Of the Cape government.
But, on the other hand, Mr.. Grun-
stein and his friend. Toms fellow trav-
eler from Port Elizabeth, deliberately
swore, tho ono that Thomas Burrows
had had illicit dealings with certain
Katfirs employed in the mines, and the
other that he had taken very valuable
parcel Of rough stones from Cape Town
to Port Elizabeth and there disposed Of
some of them at the usual prices asked
by illicit trafiickers. This evidence was
supported by that Of three converted"
Kafiirs, who could usually be bought on
the fields for such nefarious purposes,
TO the effect that they had seen certain
of these very stones purchased by Pol
ish Jew who had since fed the coun-
| try.
Tho theory of the prosecution, there
| fore. was that the accused had all along
been engaged in the illicit traffic, and
that his departure into the wilderness
| and his absence from the fields were
| merely parts of an elaborate scheme for
obtaining credence to cock and bull
|
for illicit dealings OH n gigantic scale.
1t was pretty fiimsy theory, certain
| ly, but the prosecuting counsel made
the most of it, and there was not O
shred of evidence to contradict it, so the
case was sert for trial to the special
court, bail was refused, and Mr.. Grun-
stein congratulated himself on having
| Al lcA hi &c
terious good fortune and earned foi
himself and his fellow consrirators the
10 per cent reward on an enormously
valuable capture.
1t was, however, noticed that The =:
cuscd so far from recognizing the peril.
Gus position in which he stood, seemed
to treat the whole affair as joke, and,
MS matter of fact, the magistrate had
moro than once to rcprovc him for I'M
seemly hilarity during the giving of the
evidence for the prosecution.
That afternoon the secretary of the Dc
Beers company received letter through
Inspector Lipinsl,i from the prisoner re-
questing him, i'll the interests of the
whole diamond trade OF the world, tt
H |
with him the Inspector and one of the
directors of the De Beers whom Tom hat
known intimately before his departure.
They went and, having pledged Their
honor to secrecy, they received from hin
detailed and circumstantial account
of his adventures, from which only on'
particular was omitted and that was tn,
] IF a
Golconda, which could only be discov
cred by means of the map which it
discovcrcr had made, and which woul,
be as hard, if not harder. to find tina!
the river of diamonds itself. There i
no need 10 reproduce the interview il
J detail. 1t will he sufficient to say tina
, toward its close the prisoner said YER
quietly, but with all the air of MAJ
} who knows what he is talking abou
and means to stick to what he says;
! "Now, gentlemen, l have told yo
: nearly all that intend you to know fo
the present. You can believe me or d
the other thing, just rs you please
, Granted that you don't, it is quite pc:
sible that / may be convicted and sen
, to the lrcalswatcr, but | will now Civ
, you one mere fact. If that happens,
, shall not have served IL months Of III
| sentence before the markets of the worl
= will be flooded with diamonds such q
t the mines Of Kimberley never have pr,
duccd and never will. They shall be !
= cheap that every servant girl shall
l able to blaze with them if she likes, IN
=. ! whom they nrp Ms chCap MS or cheaDs
r than their limitations l fancy you wi
find the monopoly of the De Beers as III
S salablc n commodity rs tho diamond
+ which it then won't pay to produce.
f ION the other hand, if the prosec,
o tion is withdrawn, as | suggest, IN
n those who have conspired to ruin me a
It properly punished, / will conduct q
expedition, half of which shall be 5
lected by myself and half by you, to Il
place l have spoken of. If you find TIL
l have lied to you, well, you may sho
me ON the spot and say that n lion got II
for all that l care, but if You find til
what l say is correct, and that the
really exists whole valley paved Wi
diamonds such rs you have seen tod;
to an unknown depth, thea you wi
give me Il share in the De Beers consc
idated mines to the value of Ct, 900, 90
and, in consideration of that, l wi
! mako an agreement with you giving "
n half share in my discovery, viii,
will be very cheap at the price.
"Our interests will then be identities
and your control of the diamond ma
-.