The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-10-11

manded suddenly.
81 was wondering how you will 10 :
when you go to heaven. Mr.. lsas
stein" was the astounding reply.
"You imagine. then. that I may deal
fairly with your he said at last.
"Oh. yes. Why should you rob mef
You can earn more money than yor en-
ever need In this world by looking aft
or my interests properly. II only You
will believe this statement II will save
you much future worry. / assure you.
"Were you in earnest when you sa d
that you have an abundance OF stones
Nike those In your hands?"
$50 many. Mr.. Isaacstein, that You
will have some trouble in disposing Of
them. have diamonds as big, as big
let me seas big as an egg"
The wonder Is that the man did not
faint
my Godr' he gurgled. do you
know what you are saying? Where
are they. boy? You will be robbed.
murdered for their sake. Where arc
they1 Let me put them In some safe
place. / will deal honestly by You l
swear it by all that | hold sacred. But
you must have them taken care Of
"They are quite safe, be certain of
that. Reveal my secret I will not |
have borne insult and Imprisonment to
preserve 1t. so 1t is not likely | will
yield now to your appeals"
Philips face lit up with a strange
light as this protest left his lips. The
meteor was his mothers bequest She
gave it to him, and she would safe
guanh n Had she failed hitherto3
Was not all London ringing with the
news Of his fortune, yet what man or
woman had discovered the whereabouts
Of his treasure? LII his pocket he felt
me great iron key of No. 3 Johnson's
News, and he was as certain now that
his hiding place was unknown as that
his mothers spirit was looking down
an him from heaven and directing his
every movement.
The man, in spite of his own great
lack of composure, saw the heeting
glimpse of spirituality in the boys eyes.
Puzzled and disturbed though he was,
he made another violent effort to pull
his shattered nerves into order.
There is no need to talk all day" he
said doggedly Nov am going to tell
you something you don't know. If your
boast 10 justified-if you really own as
many diamonds and as good ones as
you say you own-there must be a
great deal of discretion exercised in
putting them on the market. Diamonds
are valuable only because they are
rare. There Is a limit to their possible
purchasers. If the diamond mines of
the world were to pour all their re-
sources forthwith into the lap of the
public there would be such slump
that prices would drop 30, 60, even 81
per cent. Do you follow meT
"vas'' nodded philin.
A week earlier he would have said,
sYes. sir" but his soul was bitter yet
AGAINST Isaacstein-
every well 1t may take me months,
years, TO realize your collection. To do
4 properly l must have some idea OF
IN magnitude If there are exception
ally large stones among 1t, they Will be
Aaalt with separately. They may rival
or eclipse the few historical diamonds
az the world, but their worth can only
be measured by the readiness of some
fool to pay hundreds of thousands for
them. Seer
EYES," nodded Philip again. His
nententiousness brought the man to
the point.
therefore you must take me into
your confidence. What quantity of
stones do you possess and what are
their sizes1 l must know"
Isaacstein, cooler now, puSed his
lbs and pressed his thumbs together
until they appeared to be in danger of
dislocation. 1t was his favortte atti-
tude when engaged in deal. 1t signi-
fied that he had cornered his victim.
Philip. appealed to in this strictly
commercial way. could not fail to see
II was to his own interest to tell his
chosen expert the exact facts and moth
ing but the facts.
The boy, singularly unfurried In tone
and manner hazarded an inquiry.
what amount Of ordinary diamonds
i'm their money value, l mean-car
you dispose of readily in the course of
a year, Mr.. Isaacsteing"
ooh, 100000 or 100000 worth. 1t
is q matter largely dependent on the
condition OF trade generally But that
may be regarded as minimum"
"And the bigger stones, worth many
thousands each?"
"It is impossible to say. Taking
them in the lump at values varying
from thousand each to fancy figures.
perhaps $4,000 worth"
ut would he safe to reckon on
quarter Of million a year, all told?'
"Quite safe"
"Then. Mr.. Isaacstein, will supply
you with diamonds of that value every
year for many years"
The man relaxed the pressure on his
thumbs. Indeed, he passed tremu-
lous hand across his forehead He was
beaten again. and he knew it-worsted