The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-06-24


slipping in and out enchanted the lad,
and he would amuse himself for hours
with it, 1t was strange that gilded
/ top, no doubt made for the amusement
Of grave Chinese emperors, should des-
| cend to afford pleasure TO an arab of
London City. But the mandarin was
an exile from the fowery land, and
rocked as merrily in the dingy pawn
shop as ever he had done in the porce-
lain palaces of Picking
/ \ month or two after the mandarin
/ had been pawned BOlker announced in
/ the most unexpected manner that he in
/ tended TO better himself. He had been
/ given, he said, the post of shop boy i'm
I a West End booksellers establishment.
and as he was fond of literature he in
tended to accept it. Hagar rather won
dered that any one should have placed
sufficient confidence in this arab to give
/ him a situation, but she kept her won
/ derment to herself, and permitted him
/ to go. She was sorry to lose the benefit
Of his acute intelligence, but personally
she had no great love for this scampish
/ hunchback; so she saw him depart
without displaying much sorrow. Thus
Bolker vanished from the pawnshop
and from Carby's crescent, and ascend
ed into higher spheres.
Nothing new happened after his de-
parture. The mandarin remained IN
touched on the shelf, and the dust CT
/ lected over his mOtionless figure
| HagaT quite forgot about the toy and
its pawner; and it was only when
Larky Bill was released from prison
and came to claim his property that
she recalled the incident She took
! down the figure, busted it carefully
and set it swaying on the counter be
/ fore Mr.. Smith. Neither Bill nor
Hagar noticed that It did not roll as
easily and gracefully as usual
/ Here's the quid and interest and
ticket" said Bill. rendering all three
/ I'm glad to get this ere back again.
No ones touched It, ave they?'
No. It has been on that shelf ever
since YOU pawneG it. Where have you
been?"
LarI<y Bill grinned. I've been stayln'
at a country 'ouse Of mine fur my
'ealth's sake" he said, tucking the
mandarin under his arm. Say missus,
a cove called Monkey didn't come smell
lin round ere fur this himage?"
Not that I know Of Nobody asked
for the toy
Guess it's all right" chuckled Bill,
gIeefully. Lord, to think as how I've
done that bloke, Won't he cuss when
he knows as I've got emf
What them" were Mr.. Smith did
not cOndescend to explain at that par
I LltuidE moment. he IDuuEQ january
to Hagar and went off, still chuckling
with the mandarin in charge. Hagar
put away the money and thought that
she had seen the last of Bill; but she
TeckOned wrongly. Two hours after
ward he was back III the shop, man
DARN and all, with a pale face a wild
eye, and a mouth full of abuse. At
first he swore at large without giving
any explanation; so Hagar waited till
D he h1 IaH
asked him quietly what was the mat
/ ter. For answer Bill pumped down
the Chinese toy on the counter and
clutched his fur cap with both hands
Matter, cuss you" he shrieked, fur
iously. LAS if ye didn't know! I've
been robbed"
Robbed! What nonsense are you
talking? And what have I to do with
your being ~obbed?"
Bill g+sped and pointed to the man
DARN, who was rolling cOmplacently
with a fat smile ON his porcelain Wis
age. ''That-that DOLL" he spluttered.
I've been robbed"
"Of the doll?" asked Hagar, impa-
. tiently.
dimins."
Diamonds" echoed the girl, start
= ing back in establishment.
''Yes' Y know, hang you, y know!
Twenty thousan' poun' of dimins!
They was in that doIl-inside i'm.
They amt there now Why not2 Cause
you've robbed me- Thief! Yah!'
Il did not know that there were
any Jewels concealed in the mandarin, -
said Hagar, calmly. Had I known
should have informed the police
blown the gas, would We? An
/ Why"
Because man in your position does
not possess diamonds unless he steals
/ them. And, now I think of it, added
Hagar. quickly, about the time you
pawned this toy Lady Deacey's jewels
were stolen. You stole them."
''P'raps did, p'raps I didn't"
grOwIed Bill. mentally Cursing HagaT
for the acuteness of her understanding.
IS 'Tany rate, 'twaTn't your biz to prig
emf"
II tell you I never touched them !.
I did not know they were in there,''
Then who did. cuss you? When 1
guy YOU the doll the dimins were in
side: now they amt Who took 'em ~
1Iagar pondered. It was certainly
I odd that the diamonds should have
been stolen She had placed the man
, DARN on the shelf on the day Of its
pawning, and had not removed il
again until she had returned it to its
. / owner Seeing her silent, Bill turned
the toy upside down, and removed a
square morsel of the lacquer, which
) fitted in so perfectly as to seem like
one whole piece Within was the dark
p hollow of the ball-empty.
Il put them dimins into ere with
my own and persisted Bill, pointing
! one grimy finger at the gap; they
were ere when I popped it; they ain't
ere now Where are they? Who's bin
: playing with my property
"BoIker!" cried Hasar, without
I thinking. It had just flashed across
her mind that one day she had found
Bolker amusing himself with the man
, DARN At the time she had thought
. nothing Of it, but had replaced the
I toy on its shelf and forbidden the laI
! 10 NEEDLE with it. But now, recalling
the episode, and connecting il with
$ Boxers sudden departure she fell
t convinced that the imp had stolen the
E concealed jewels But-as she wonder
. Id Lz1 nj 1ea4