The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-09-25

up WIFI a StTduRS
light as this protest left his lips Tie
meteor was his mothers bequest. She
gave it to MIN, and she would safe
guard 1t. Had she failed hitherto?
Was not all London ringing with the
news Of his fortune, yet what man or
woman had discovered the whereabouts
Of his treasure? In his pocket he felt
the 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
on him from heaven and directing his
every movement.
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 l 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 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 a slump
that prices would drop So. 60. even 80
per cent. Do you follow met"
YES" nodded Philip.
A week earlier he would have said,
eyes, SIR" but his soul was bitter yet
against Isaacstein.
Every we'll. 1t may take me months,
years. to realize your collection. To do
it properly l 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. Seer"
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. 1t was his favorite atti-
tude when engaged In a deal. 1t signi-
Go1 hot he vfr
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 moth
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
q year, Mr.. Isaacstein?'
"Oh, 600, 600 or 5000 worth. It
is 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 $4,000 worth"
'Tt would be safe to reckon on a
quarter of million a year, all told?'
"Quite safe"
"Then, Mr.. Isaacstein, I 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 gutter snipe in a war OF wits.
The contest had one excellent effect
1t stopped all further efforts on Isaac
STEMS 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 its aggressiveness when he said:
''In the police court valued the dia-
monds you produced at $4,000. 1t does
not necessarily follow that 1 am pre-
pared to give such a sum for them at
this moment. / might do so as specu-
lation, but l take 1t you do not want
me to figure in that capacity. 1t will
be better for you. safer for me. il be-
come your agent. will take your stones
to Amsterdam, have them cut sufficient
" to enable dealers to assess their true
worth and sell them to the best adj
vantage My charge will be 10 per
cent and pay all expenses. Today I
will give you ESQ. Tomorrow 1 will
take you to bank and place Ave thou
sand to your credit. Meanwhile will
give you receipt for thirty stones.
weighing in the rough 50 many carats.
and You or any one you may appoint
can see the sale vouchers subsequently.
when I will hand you the balance aft