The daily Alaskan., 1911-11-09

Dad said boy to his father one day when they were riding through their vast estates, nov did you get all this? Mother has often said that before you and she were married you were a tutor in a college"
 'Yes, my boy, l was an instructor in analytical chemistry. The students who studied under me worked in the college laboratory From my early youth | had shown a f-ndness for chemical processes and before ] was eighteen had made several discoveries, though none of them 50 important as one made several years later.
 Your mother was in the woman's college attached to the university, and she and became acquainted.
 Your mothers parents being poor as soon as she was graduated she ac- eepted a position aS goveruess with a very rich lady. whose rhiidr u She taught. A year after sue lcft the uni. versity she came Into the laboratory one day to see me. aud by her aIpear. ance I knew at once that she was tn great trouble.
 "T have come to you she said, there being DO one else in whom dare con6de. l wish you to advise me. The lady by whom am employ cd took a great fancy to me as soon as I entered her service aud last week, when she went away to be one of house party consisting of very rich people like herself. left her most valuable jewels in my care. They have been kept in safe in Der bed room. and she tntrusted the key with me. The day after her departure she directed me by letter 10 send her certain brooch she wished to wear with a costume a especially tltted. l unlocked the safe. took out the brooch snd while packing It left the safe door oOen. When | returned to the room heIore locking tEe safe It occurred 10 me 10 see 1T the jewels were there. A box containing the most valuable ones had disappeared. What shall l dor
 sTn tracking the thief ] could be of no assistance Co the poor girl, but had been making some experiments with reSults that suggested to me a possible temporary solution of the dimcnty. There had then recently been discovered the substance called radium- which you win soon learn something about at school It's indu- euce on other substances Is remark able. l had used it ID the laboratory in the little glass receptacles called test tutas and hsd found that 1t had turned them a beautiful blue color. It occurred to noe that the shade was similar to that of sapphires. This thought resulted in these riches we now possess.
 How? Go ou with the story.
 'Tt led me 10 a series of eTperi- U,ants expceed crystals of different coIors to the Influence of radium, put tinc the crystals and the radium away togatber fin a dark closet. The white crystals had become topazes, the blue crystals eneralds. and violet crystals were turned to sapphires- l had learned the secret Of the constitution of gems. They were simply crystals fbat had been acted upon by radium.
 .I told your mother that I might dpulIcate the lost gems if only knew their shares. eolors and sizes, where uDoD she told me that the owner Kept Dbotographs or them 10 be used Co SSau4ifv them in case or their loss at t,eir exact size She brought me the photographs, and without losing a. moment had crystals cut to match them and exposed the crystals to radium.
 'eTbe danger was that the owner of tbe Jewels would call for them before tbey had been exposed long enough to change their color. Besides, those | was making might not come out the right shade. resolved on an expe- dient As soon as any of the crystals became gems l took them to a jewe'eT snd exchauged them for those whose color matched the originals and had those I received cut the exact shape. Fortunately the lady remained away sufficient time to meet these require meuts. aud she never knew that her gems had been stolen"
 But was that honest, dadT'
 Had the gems been spurious tt would not have been honest, but they were real The originals had been made in natures laboratory, just as I made these In mine"
 How did you make so much out Of ity
 q simply manufactured gems and sold them without imparting my secret But in time a chemist in Germany made the same discovery as !, and those scientists over there used tc give sIl their discoveries to the world. He published fhe secret, and henceforth au gems heeame of little value. Con seouentiy theT are DO longer prized by fbe rich. They are as beautiful now that they are manufactured by man, ss they were when nature was their only maker. but value depends on rarity. and since gems are 10 longer rare they are DO longer valuable"
 "What has taken the place of these