The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-08-17

! q few weeks, however, one OF them was
| sold to firm Of diamond merchants
trading as Lipinski Brothers, and out
wardly in large way of business.
The other ive could not be disposed OF
| and remained stored. All the while the
| trio had kept studicusly aioof except at
stated appointments, and maintained
as respectable a department as was pos
| sible at the period. They now saw
| way to business, ard prepared for it.
! 1t was absolutely necessary 10 get SONS
| confederates. and luckily one of them
was employed as a sort of messenger
and handy man by the Lipinski firm.
He was apparently confirmed topper,
exhibiting an abiding thirst, but with
q remarkable amount of cunning and
| craft.
TWAS this man, Dennis by name, who
urged the absolute necessity of 'squar-
ing" one of the detectives, and bringing
| in a fifth party to the exploit. This
seemed to John good opportunity, and
he advanced Dennis and Chiffon, the
] "tec," zoo each with great cheertul-
ness,
| All was now ready for the grand
coup. Dennis had informed them that
there were 10000 carats of diamonds,
worth at that time about & 10000, in the
safe awaiting transit by mail on the fol-
lowing day.
Never probably was burglary SO
easily effected. Between midnight and
t.so o'clock the window of the Office had
| been taken bodily out, the iron bars,
which were merely Il mockery to an ex-
| perienced craftsman, wrenched from
their sockets, arG the safe opened and
| four precious parcels safely transferred
| to the lodgings of the adventures. The
night was dark, and positively no sus-
picions whatever seemed to have been
| aroused.
John and his two accomplices opened
the parcels and gazed with glee and
exultation on the glittering, glistening
gems that were to make them all rich
for life. They fully expected that next
day there would be great commotion
in the town, and that on the following
day the newspapers would be full of TIDE
sensational account of the robbery. f'ut
not word appeared in either Of the
sheets.
The circumstance was very plausibly
explained by Dennis and Chiffon, who
declared that tho detective department
had insisted upon silence on the part OF
Messrs. Lipinski as one of the very best
means of getting a clew.
These two men had played their part
well, John thought, and he willingly
paid them off with 6 25O each.
Good luck to YOU" mumbled Dennis,
as he shuffed away, while the tee"
simply put his forefinger to his nasal
organ and calculated mum" in mys-
terious fashion and departed.
And now the rest OF the business was
comparatively easy. Although the dia-
mond trade act permits an eXamination
of every person leaving by steamer.
only suspected persons are ever
searched. The three men carried in
| their pockets each portion OF the 3d.
600 carats, and after three days jour
ney to Port Elizabeth got safely on
board the steamer for England without
even a question or look from anybody
| to cause them any concern.
| Table bay left behind, they were in
| high spirits, and had a very, very merry
voyage home. The remnant of the l.
200 capital with which they had been
supplied by the syndicate enabled the
trio to have what they considered
high old time.
Immediately on arrival at Southamp-
ton John wired message, ambiguous
enough to those through whose hands
it passed on the line, but most reassur-
ing to the syndicate. All was proceeding
serenely.
Few men have ever been in such an
exuitant mood as John Wild as he en-
tered the place of meeting, house in
York road, Lambeth, with the $4,000
worth of diamonds in valise, which he
held with both hands. The repre-
sentatives of the Syndicate" = two
| hoary-headed old rascals-were on the
tiptoe of pleasurable expectation.
John undid the parcels and spread out
the glittering vanities with great self
Importance. Suddenly No. of the syn
dictate hoarsely calculated: what dye
mean by this?" while No. uttered
cry like toothless old lion as itsprings
upon field rat
Then Johns senses completely left
him, as he gathered from the angry,
.profane language how the expedition"
had been completely sold.
The diamonds" were crystals and
paste, so deliberately manipulated that
only an expert could have determined
whether they were real gems. Dennis
of course had betrayed them, while Chill
ton was as big fraud as the goods
the term applied to diamonds at Kim
berley.
Needless to say the interview in Lam.
beth was exceedinly turbulent, and
ended in the full syndicate falling upon
John and beating him within an inch of
| his life.
But he bore hrs trials with philosophy,
! 10 ~ for I g