Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-01

splendid collection of gems represented
not only many pounds sterling in hard
Cash, when once successfully translated
from the Kimberly compound and sorting
houses to the outside world. bat also many
moments of desperate yet skillfully hid
Gen anxiety. during which the tickle needle
of fate had swaycd to and fro between
two poles Of fortune and ruin.
Some men in Frank Ridley's position
and he was one of the most trusted TT
ers in ctInp-would have ;Iscn the stones
out one by one. or employed kafiirs to take
them frcm him after they had been search
ed. and pass them direct to one of the
Illicit dealers outside. but that was not
his way. He had no other confidant than
his own conscience, not always an APPROX
ing one. but at amy rate one that "oUld
not give him away.
To have taken the stones out one by
enc would only have multiplied The risk
of discovery and ruin by the number of
them, for the possession of "a single Illicit
diamond would have meant disgrace and
penal scrvitude just certainly as would
the dis every on his person of the whole
twenty or thirty thousand pounds worth
of Ecms-the very pick Of the Kimberley
mine output for nearly six months past.
SO one afternoon he made up his mind
that he had tempted the fates far emo, gh.
and at q o'clock that evening he walked off
to his lodgings with his heart IN his mouth
and fortune in the lining Of his some
what shabby felt widcawakc.
That night. albeit with some little fear
and trembling. he permitted himself the
luxury Of few minutes examination of
his plumber III bulk. and estimate Of
its vIluc-uot to him. but to the
fortunate man who shoUll succeed in get
ting the parcel through safety to London
or Amsterdam. If he coulI only do that
himself he world never ncal to do an
ether days work in the worli-but he was
an cInrloye. a sortcr. and therefore mark
Z
IN" wonderful system which incloS,.l him
ara all Ike him as in a net We're many
and wide
No. that risk was too great. considering
that II" could not make ff.bD or t.,.nno in
an hour or SO. and ut the same time trans
FIR all his risk and liability to some one
else. and 20 back to his work with "A light
h'drt. and. in Il certain sense. a clear cCf.-
SgI"U,C
Yet :h'rc was one magnificent rose dia-
iH"nd, Whi'h must have weighed some
WE"r' h";"ccn forty and fifty carats
which h. would dearly nave L,vcd % 500
IH'!y ut and polished and glittcring on
Inc neck or in the hair of "a certain we'll
loved s",ne one far away in old Carlisle
but h" knew well enough that there was
not another Of its size AMI color in the
World The nearest to it was in the De
ftrrs collection. and the mere possession
oi 1t by any one hut Il monarch or 4 mil
li":1ir" would mean just what his own
possession -: it meant. so there was no
usc thinking about that
" i'h SUN 'li!lllS very ike Sirt
the uhatidIrihc possibilities of his So far
Su''t sSfuI theft, ne tied I'M tha rams
IN Il bit of dirty rag and stuffed this INTO
,nr 10" 1i a r1thcr dilapId1trI WcIlir rton
root linen h" had wash and Il chance
ara went for wlIk down town.
On ms way along Stp.klaIc street be
S"du.'d Z" meet wcil-,lr .ssch. Gappcr-
okIht httie man. who III Idrd to him as
one H'IEht 81" to Il casual ac.uIllrtaur. ma
SAM. IN Il quick. chirpy sort Of tone.
How do. Ridley? Going stronG. ch?''
IIetty wei. Mr.. Nuratti.' H.. rcrIicl
win Il quick look up and DOWN the street
Returns are looking up again New b,,i
some very pretty finds the i,st ,ldv or two -
ph' ElIu 10 hear it. even from a man who
M'S'5S MS opportunities rs idintir;,lIy as
9tu 90. Anything particularly choica?''
We'll. yes. Are you doing anyth!n- In
secondhand boots just noS. Mr. Mur,tfI."
Il may here he conveniently explained
INIT thc gentleman with whom young Rid
Icy had thus fallen into colyrrsatiou was.
IN those days. known in camp as SI,,.kry
Nurttti- The wider wori Knows him now
a. Mlthici Mnratt. esq. NJ l.. A.. and
direst1r Of many important financial under
taEIugS. Eut in those days he was iusf an
- tFti.'lF clever man. a Jew of r,.puIcd
f!'r'n'ih' ancestry. but more recent and
uihvu'! c East End extraction who Tad
Htig H1S debut in Kimberly as Il dealer
ia cheap Icweiry and sipD-luI,Ie outfits
after having wandered about picking NJ ::
H'lHE 10y The display Of his jusSl,u: abili-
i"-.dnd who was now looked upon as one
OF tn" suartcst and most successful '.uu.r-
at"rs on thu diamond fields
inspector LipinZki and some of his more
trtstcI subprdInat,s cherished certain s,,s-
piti"Hs as TO the scope OF mis- operations
hd' 50 FAR his dealings had been blamClcss
at Least 50 far as tangible evidence was
concerned added to which Inc had recently
married very pretty and exceedingly
c'.Ntr vile. which meant much On tho
IL Ids iu those. days.
Mr.. Muralti DID not seem In .hc least an
n"Eel 10y the apparent reference to his for
hood bn the contrary, he iooit"d up " 18th
quick Glance at Ridley. and said. with "A
sInii" Of peasant anticipation:
ell. haven't done any thing I'm the
Old cl"' line for some time now but Won
know I'm always on for a trade. What's
the fis;Lrc?''
Ten thousand
IN -, you-T mean I'll Ike to see the
goods first before ] say anything to that
Its big price for a pair of secondhand
boots. you know. Mr.. Ridley. Still. I'm
glad TO see that you're beginning To- rise to
proper sens" of your opportunities. When
can | see the boots?''
IL WIS thinking Of taking them down to
Tcoley's tomorrow about this time to have
them sOled and hcclcd.
so you're on to that lay. are you? Well
you're not such blightcd idiot as |
thought you Were. Ridley: so | apologize /
shall be sending to TOolcy's mysclf-but
look here. IL we mean business what's the
good of wasting time like that? Go and ger
your boots now and take them to Tooley's
iie ISM smut. ana ne s got a pair of mine
TO mend. Ill be there In half an hour
and III take your parcel away with me in
stead Of my ow0-wcll. what's that to any
body but you me?
IL wasn't altogether n new device. but 1.
worked. and In the result Mr.. Muratti's
valuation of the boots SO far satisfac-
tory that about two hours later Frank Rid
ley went home with check for e. 500 and
an | q l for a Ike amount in his pocket
and a pair of another mans boots under
ms arm, neatly wrapped up in copy Of
the Diamond Fields Independents The
check was ON id"yd's Bank, London. and
was payable, not to Frank Ridley but TO
Miss Alice Ransomc. The ] q l. was per
s"hdI. but both went to England by the
next mail.
There occurs here the unpleasant ncces-
sity OF adding that the check was stopped
by cable long before Miss RanSome had
any chance of presenting ii. The fate of
the . u was to be determined later on
Meanwhile Mr. Frank KidIey's thouphts
turned h"meward and mingled with loving
memories and fond anticipations
That same night. between IL and IL Mr.
Muratu had Il visit from a man of his own
people. "a youth of some twenty-one sum-
mers. whose life had SO far been mostly