The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1904-07-22
The Jewel | Found
fOriginal.l

| w AtII i WIS dt uh vs. " 'N5'-A 49,
world for myself. my sole desire was
TO get rich quick and spend my money
all on myself. With this in view
went TO Port Natal to hunt for dia-
; monds. hunted three years, with no
s:cccss. Then it began to dawn on
me that instead of winning Il life Of
Ease | had won not only life of por-
trty, but one Of exile.
One day when riding my bicycle
along newly made road my saddle
slipped forward. and not having u
wrench with which to tighten the nut
dismounted TO find a stone to drive
the saddle forward. While looking for
stone of the proper size my eye fell
on one about rs large as small hen
egg, which my practiced eye ut once
took for diamond. l hurried TO my
room with It. tested it and found II to
be diamond of the first water In u
twinkling all was changed. My dream
was realized.
l had Il small stone which | sold for
enough to take me home and at once
sailed for America. The first day out
on the ocean l did nothing but dream
OF my good fortune. l would build
me country house on the seashore
where l was born and sit all the long
summer day on my piazza looking al
the ocean. The second day | tired OF
dreaming and began to long for some
thing to occupy me. On the third
felt bored. One morning I noticed
young girl sitting In a steamer chair.
1t was her first appearance on deck.
At any rate | had not seen her before.
wished ut once could know and talk
with her. 1t would relieve that bored
feeling which had come upon nc.
Luckily l had made the acquaintance
of one who knew her and secured an
Introduction. She had gone to South
Africa 10 teach, but her health had be-
come impaired, and she was going
back to where she had started from,
worse off than before.
spent hours with her. l told her
that was sufficiently well off to do az
l liked, and what l liked to do was
nothing. She did not seem very en-
tiusiastic over my plans for the fu-
ture. Indeed she said that a man with
out an object was 4 cumbercr of the
ground. / could not but contrast my
self with this girl, who in face of real
discouragements was so much more
ready to exert herself than l, with
health, strength and mans advantages
in fighting the world.
One night, or, rather early morning.
was playing cards and drinking with
some men In the smoking room. There
was dense fog on the water, and we
should have slowed down. but instead
Of doing so kept up an average speed
Suddenly there was clang at the en-
CINE bell, stoppage of the machinery
and commot;on on deck, then crash
forward, and we knew there had been
a collision.
Amid a panic and scramble for the
boats l saw my girl friend. She was
standing on an upper deck, looking
down upon the turmoil with rcmarka.
BILE calmness. Some of the sailors had
seized boat-for all discipline had
1t was the last of the boats the others
having gone. Tearing my diamond
from my undershirt, in which it was
sewcd, ! held it before the eyes of the
man casting off.
''Do you see that? It's a diamond
worth n big fortune I'll give it to YOU
II you'll take that girl up there with
YOU"
He east q glance at her and said
Her, not you; only room for
one'
Dashtng away, l seized her. carried
her to the boat, put her in. gave the
man my diamond, and she drifte1
away from me- her eyes fixed on mine
in indescribable gratitude till she was
lost to sight.
was one of three men-thc SIR
vlvors of ten-who were picked IN on
n raft and taken to New York. The
newspapers We're full OF the loss of
our ship, the boat in which | had
placed my girl friend having been
picked up and brought into port few
days before. We Of the raft and those
IN this boat were the only ones sayet,
from the sunken steamer. | noted tho
address of the girl | had been The
means OF saving and went to see her.
All she knew was that had induced
4 seaman to take her into the boat
That | had bribed him with a fortune
she was ignorant. l did not tell her.
She was full of gratitude, and | did
not care to add TO her sense of oblicf.
lion by telling her that on her account
had put myself back where | was
when started for Port Natal
we had both gone to the same land. |
to acquire wealth to enable me to |
i've in ease, she to make herself nsc-
'ui In a life Of ceaseless labor. | had |
succeeded and given my success that
me might not die; she had failed and
'eturned to her home in disappoint.
neht. l was still on the threshold of
lie, with health and strength. she nm
Invalid without the means of yainin.
| livelihood
But | had received an all absorb.
ng motive. My whole being was bent
N expending my mans strength for
ms helpless girl. This told her and
me accepted what could hardly con-
1ince her was not a sacrifice.
mat was many years ago E,..r