Evening star., 1902-03-08
UNDER CLOSE WATCH

That was a most ingenious gnome story
that came out OF Montana the other day.
about travelling jewelry salesman's trunk.
containing s20OO worth Of diamonds, hav-
Ing been neatly lifted through the window
| or baggage room In small town In the
oead or night by gang OF professional
burglars" remarked a well-known diamond
drummer who was in town last week. THE
lmposslbfty. or, rather, the imbecility of
the tale, has so many facets that they
needn't all be held to the light, and so I'll
only mention two looming flctions Of the
lake that make all the rest ridiculous. No
travelling 5ewelry salesman carries any
100000 worth Of samples along with him.
| In this or any other country nor anything
| like 100000 worth; and those that he does
carry along with him he doesn't trust to
any trunk. He packs them in long spe-
cialiy contrived wallet, and they are al
ways as close to his person as his clothing,
day and night He rarely travels in a
sleeping car II he can possibly avoid 1t,
but when he does the wallet containing his
samples Is right there so that he can feel
| or 1t every time he emerges from a cat nap,
ana ne sleeps with one eye open and the
other only partially closed in such circum-
stances, at that. Instances in which trav-
eling diamond statesmen have been robbed
by adroit thieves who have skillfully fol-
watched their chance have been extremely
| rare, and in all cases such thieves. clever
| as they were. have been apprehended by
agents OF the American Jewelers. Protec-
tive Association. Nevertheless, diamond
drummers are constantly alert, as I say
| for attempts at robbery, and when they
are In the western country they drop sew
| eral pounds day, l might say. for fear OF
sudden holdups by bold, bad persons with
| guns
''The first trip out that I made for the
firm that has had my valuable services for
!, the past twenty years afforded me an ex-
| perience that has caused me a lot of in
ward chuckling ever since. My wallet con-
tanned about $4,000 worth Of unset dia-
| monds and the way did clutch those gems
| to my bosom was sure caution. My terri
tory was the southern country this side of
| the Mississippi, and every time 1 nodded
| on dreamt Of tall southern mountaineers
| who tucked their trousers into their boots
| and shot straight. This, in fact, was the
| type Of brigand I had mostly in mind so
that. about week after I had left New
York, was considerably mystif1ed to find
that a smooth-looking. well-dressed indi-
vtdual appeared to be paying a whole lot Of
attention to my movements He wasn't a
| bit ostentatious about it, but the fact be-
| gan to bear In upon me that he was certain
| ~ taxing In my route throughout Tennessee
and Kentucky pretty thoroughly, and trav-
| cling on the same trains and cars, and STOP
| ping at the same hotels, and seeming to be
| heap OF Nemesis as it were, of mine
anu Tic ldCl Sol Oh my nerves Wnen, nav
| ing first observed it, started to look for a
continuance OF the game. I tried to reason
| 1t out that l was all wrong, and that prob
ably he was drummer In some other line
whose route happened to be identical with
| mine; but. somehow or other, he didn't have
| the look or bearing of commercial tray-
| eler, and [ couldn't satisfy myself on that
point. He held himself very much aloof
| and at the hotels at which we stopped.
| never engaging anybody in friendly con-
| versation as Is the manner Of touring sales
| men; and when l began to suspect him I
| often caught him sizing me up out of the
tail OF his eye in manner that caused me
TO read solitary line in my newspaper
| about hundred times. After l had been
| In the constant view of this person for a
| straight week l became convinced that he
| was In sore need Of about $35 900 worth of
| nice bue-white diamonds, and that he had
| about made up his mind that my package
| would do rs we'll as anybody's else
AT the end Of the week I was beginning
| TO inquire as to the best nerve tonics for
| men iaboring under severe strains, and
| never went to bed that 1 didn't have
nightmare In which this suave. quiet,
smOoth-faced individual seemed to be about
| twelve feet high and possessed of more
! gun hands than an octopus has tentacles
One evening | was taking supper in
Nashville hotel, and my bette noir, as he
| had become. was seated at table directly
| in front Of me. calmly reading a newspaper
| as he ate. and every once in a while look
ing up abstractedly and regarding me in a
dreamy sort Of way-lookng right through
| me. as it were. I couldn't stand 1t any
longer rose from my table, walked over
! to his. took seat and looked him square
| In the eye.
"'My friend said I, I don't exactly
| know whether or not I've been dreaming
good deal lately, but it seems to me that
| I've seen more OF you within the past ten
days than 1 have Of my own countenance
| In the glass. Are you following me-?
He locke a If no
| crazy man. deliberately rose from the
| table without word, left the dining room
and didn't see hide or hair Of him again
| during the trip.
But I saw him again all right after the
| trip. I got into New York about a month
| later. and there was the smooth-looking
| proposition who had dogged me SO persist
| emily calmly seated in the private office Of
the head member Of the firm, just as much
| at home as If the whole plant belonged to
| him. l stared at him and he nodded at me
| and grinned. When he left the office
| asked the head Of the firm who the man
was, narrating my experience.
| oh. he's just handy man we employ
| occasionally was the reply and. to cut the
story down, ascertained that the suave-
looking chap was a detective who had been
on my trail from the moment that I'd left
New York on that first trip Ny creden-
tials had been all right of course, else 1
shouldn't have got the job, but the detec-
| tive kept along after me for the purpose Of
| seeing whether l was a man Of straight
| habits and whether 1 observed proper pre-
cautions in protecting the valuable prop
| erty the firm intrusted to my care. His re-
port was all to the good, of course, in the
| latter respect, but I feel pretty certain
that If 1 hadn't taken notice of his con-
| stant proximity to me upon that first trip
out I'd have been recalled and told that.
after ALL the firm thought that 1t wouldn't
| need my services"
| FATRER THAN THE ROSE