Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-06

The man, in spite of his own great lack of composure, saw the fleeting 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. Now am going to tell you something you don't know. If your boast is 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 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 50, 60, even 80 per cent. Do you follow me?' ''Yes," nodded Philip. A week earlier he would have said, "Yes, sir," but his soul was bitter yet against Isaacstein.
 every we'll It may take me months, years, to realize your collection. To do it properly I must have some idea of its magnitude. If there are exception ally large stones among 1t, they will be dealt with separately. They may rival or eclipse the few historical diamonds of the world. but their worth can only be measured by the readiness of some fool to pay hundreds of thousands for | them. See?"
 "Yes," nodded Philip again. His sententiousness 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 sizes? I must know"
 Isaacstein, cooler now, pursed his | lips and pressed his thumbs together until they appeared to be in danger of ] dislocation. It was his favorite atti- tude when engaged in deal. It signi- fled that he had cornered his victim. Philip, appealed to in this strictly commercial way, could not fail to see it was to his own interest to tell his chosen expert the exact facts and noth- ing but the facts.
 The boy, singularly unflurried in tone and manner hazarded an inquiry.
 What amount of ordinary diamonds
 in their money value, mean-can you dispose of readily in the course Of a year, Mir. Isaacstein?'
 "Oh, 100000 or f300,000 worth. It is a matter largely dependent on the condition of trade generally. But that
 may be regarded as a minimum"
 And the bigger stones, worth many thousands each"
 ''It is impossible to say. Taking them in the lump at values varying from a thousand each to fancy figures, perhaps f50O00 worth"
 Ut would be safe to reckon on a quarter of a million a year, all told?
 "Quite safe"
 "Then, Mir. 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 a tremu- lous hand across his forehead. He was beaten again, and he knew it-worsted by a gutter snipe in a war of wits.
 The contest had one excellent effect. It stopped all further efforts on Isaac stein's part to wrest Philips secret from him. Thenceforth he asked for and obtained such diamonds as he need ed and resolutely forbade himself the luxury of questioning or probing the extent of his juvenile patrons re- sources.
 But there was long pause before he found his tongue again. His voice had lost it's aggrcssiveness when he said:
 Tn the police court valued the dia- monds you produced at f50000. It does not necessarily follow that I am pre- pared to give such a sum for them at i this moment I might do so as a specu- 1 lation, but take it you do not want me to figure in that capacity. It will be better for you. safer for me, If be- come your agent. will take your stones l to Amsterdam. have them cut sufficient ! Iy to enable dealers to assess their true worth and sell them to the best ad- vantage. My charge will be 10 per cent and I pay all expenses. Today will give you f50. Tomorrow I will take you to a bank and place five thou. sand to your credit Meanwhile I will give you a receipt for thirty stones, weighing in the rough so many carats and you or any one you may appoint can see the sale vouchers subsequently when l will hand you the balance aft CT deducting f5,050 and my 10 per cent The total price may exceed fifty thou sand or it may be less. but do mol think will be far out in my estimate Are you agreeableT'
 Some inner monitor told Philip that the man was talking on sound bushes: lines. There was a ring of sincerity IT his voice. Apparently he had thrus' 1 temptation aside and was firmly re solved to be content with his 10 per 1 cent.
 And this might well be. Twenty-Five ! thousand pounds a year earned by l few journeys to the continent-a few haggling interviews in the Hatton Gar | den office. What a gold mine. More over. he would be the head man in tht trade. He was that now. in some re | spects. but under the new conditions none could gsinsay his place at the top i Even the magnates of Kinberley would