Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-06-09
DIAMOND CUT
DIAMOND
By LEONARD MALLOY
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

II saw Jenkins the other day. said
Brown to the old customs Inspector
who bad exposed more smugglers than
any other maj in the department.,
land he told me to ask you the next
time l saw you to tell me the romance
of your marriage"
"Oh. he did. did he?" replied the in
spector, scowling. but in spite of him
self pickering up the corners Of his
mouth in Il smile.
"Yes. He said there was quite a
story connected with your courtship."
"Courtship be hanged!!'
"Oh. go on"
Brown offered the inspector a cigar.
telling him to light up. The bride 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 a
jeweler in London to deliver goods in
America free of duty.
"How do you suppose it's done?'
he asked me.
81 don't know I replied.
"'1 tell you what you do. Go over
there. get in with the ieweler and find
out. I'll get you a letter Of introduce
ton 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
"The result was that 1 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. I had taken off a dozen of these
labels and pasted them on my own
trunk. I did this because I intended to
appear as having been travelling on the
continent. I delivered my letter to the
jeweler, an elderly mar named Hicks.
He received me very kindly and. as it
was stated in the letter that I wished
to bring home with me some jewels
for my sister. offered to show me his
stock at once. To this I replied that I
was in no hurry and I would like to
see something Of London before my re.
turn. AS l expected, he offered to
show me around.
Fl took me to theaters, the Tower
the abbey and all that. but I didn't see
the inside Of his home. Then I began
to ask him about his f~amily-we had
got pretty thick by this time-and he
1 asked me to dine with him and his
family. I met in this way his niece
/ who lived with him, and it wasn't long
5 after that when I dispensed with the
services of the jeweler for a guide and
: took the niece. I was getting to thai
age when a man feels fattered by
young woman's attentions. and the
r first thing that 1 knew I was dead Sc
on taking her back with me to Amer
lea. English girls. you know. have {
very pleasant accent. and many o:
them can show the finest complexion:
in the world. Emily Robinson was ont
$ Of that kind, and her kittenish way
v We're just the thing to catch an OLE
bachelor like myself. She was glat
enough to get a husband who woult
make her independent. and before
left London we were not only engaged
- but married.
: "Of course ! felt guilty at trying t
find out how her uncle got goods fire.
: Of duty into America, but anyway
could only stop his doing it. l coul'
not punish him, he being an English
man and in London. So / added matrj
- mony with his niece to a detectiv
= ruse with him. We were married
few days before the steamer sailed
:. and l bought about the same tim
:, $4,000 worth of diamonds, which M
- uncIe-in-law agreed to deliver in Ne1
y York free Of duty.
II took my wife with me to my he
. tel. and the loneliness of the place wa
- dispelled at ace She was very prae
10 tical and insisted on packing my trunk
u l always hated that part Of travelin
e and was glad enough to turn the ma
III ter over to her. We dined the da,
u before sailing with her uncle and aun
and had a very jolly time. When W
lie reached home my wife put my goo
u clothes on the top Of the other thing
b already packed in my trunk and loci
st ed it. Then she began to look at tn
it labels and said how she wished W
er had met before my tour instead G
after it, as she would like to Wis
those places herself. l kissed her an
promised her a trip just as soon as
as fould arrange to be again absent fror
business.
when we reached home / told til
70 boss that some diamonds were t
IN come to us and we would have L
i'd trouble tracing how they reached u
ia My wife said the day after we g
!, homo that s1,n didn't fool 1uolJ an