The wageworker., 1910-05-13
DIAMOND CUT
DIAMOND
By LEONARD MALLOl
Copyright. 1910. by American Fvess
Association


who bad exposed more smugglers thar:
any other man in the department.
land he told me to ask you the next
time | saw you to tell me the romance
of your marriage"
"Oh. he did. did hep replied the in
spector. scowling. but in spite of him
self puckerng up the corners of his
mouth in smile.
"Yes. He said there was quite a
story connected with your courtship."
"Courtship be hanged!"
"Oh. go ont"
Brown offered the inspector a cigar.
telling him to light up. The bribe was
accepted and the story given.
you know that tradesmen abroad
are interested in learning ways by
which their customers may evade pay
ing duties on goods. because If the
goods can be got in free of duty it's
very much easier for the tradesmen to
sell them. Some of these people know
more ingenious tricks for evading du
ties than the regular smugglers.
WELL one day the boss called me
into his private Office and. taking up a
letter a friend Of his had received.
read it to me. 1t was an offer of
jeweler in London to deliver goods in
America free of duty.
"'How do you suppose it's doner
he asked me.
"I don't know replied.
"1 tell you what you do. Go over
there. get in with the jeweler and find
out I'll get you letter of introduc-
tion from his correspondent so that
he'll feel obliged to show you some at
| tention-perhaps invite you to his
house. You can't find out anything in
his shop. but you may run across
something at home that will give away
the trick
1.-THE result was that took the next
outgoing liner and within a week was
in London. We had a good many
trunks in storage held for some reason
or other that had been all over Eu-
rope and were covered with hotel la
bells. l had taken off dozen of these
labels and pasted them on my own
trunk. l did this because intended to
appear as having been travelling on the
continent I delivered my letter to the
| jeweler, an elderly man named Hicks.
He received me very kindly and. as it
was stated in the letter that wished
to bring home with me some jewels
for my sister. offered to show me his
stock at once. To this replied that
was in no hurry and 1 would like to
see something Of London before my re-
turn. AS I expected. he offered to
show me around.
"He took me to theaters. the Tower.
the abbey and all that. but l didn't see
the inside of his home. Then began
to ask him about his family-we had
got pretty thick by this time-and he
asked me to dine with him and his
family. met in this way his niece.
who lived with him, and it wasn't long
after that when l dispensed with the
services of the jeweler for guide and
took the niece. was getting to that
age when a man feels dattered by
young womans attentions. and the
first thing that knew l was dead set
on taking her back with me to Amer
lea. English girls. you know. have q
very pleasant accent, and many Of
them can show the finest compilations
in the world. Emily Robinson was one
Of that kind. and her kittenish ways
were just the thing to catch an old
bachelor like myself. She was glad
enough to get husband who would
make her independent. and before
left London we were not only engaged.
but married.
"Of course felt guilty at trying to
find out how her uncle got goods free
of duty into America. but anyway
could only stop his doing it. l could
not punish him. he being an English
man and in London. So added matri-
mony with his niece to detective
ruse with him. We were married a
few days before the steamer sailed.
and bought about the same time
$4,000 worth of diamonds. which my
uncle-in-law agreed to deliver in New
York free of duty.
II took my wife with me to my no.
tel. and the loneliness of the place was
. dispelled at once. She was very prac-
tical and insisted on packing my trunk
!, I always hated that part of travelling
and was glad enough to turn the mat
ter over to her We dined the day
|, before sailing with her uncle and aunt
and had a very jolly time. When we
. reached home my wife put my good
clothes on the top of the other things
already packed in my trunk and lock-
ed it. Then she began to look at the
labels and said how she wished we
, had met before my tour instead of
. after it. as she would like to visit
those places herself l kissed her and
l promised her a trip just as soon as
could arrange to be again absent from
business.
when we reached home told the
boss that some diamonds were to
! come to us and we would have no
: trouble tracing how they reached us.
My wife said the day after we got
r home that she didn't feel we'll and
must ask me to unpack my trunk. l
~ Fl, bo44ox,, hox