The Springfield herald., 1912-04-26

III us general Qual1ty, IL surpassed
any stone I have ever known. even
that In the imperial cabinet at Vienna.
| So brilliant was 1t, SO fascinating In
the everchanging play of its variega-
tions. SO perfect in every characters
tic of the finest Hungarian gem. that
for some moments / let the man hold
1t out to me, and said no word. There
was running through my mind the
question which must have risen un-
der such circumstances: Where had
he got 1t from? He had stolen 1t, l
concluded at the first thought; and
| again. at the second. How else could
man who wore rags under an astra-
chan coat have come to the posses
sion OF a gem upon which the most
commercial instinct would have hesi-
tated to set price?
had fully determined that I was
face to face with swindler. when
his exclamation reminded me that he
, expected me to speak.
We'll" he said ARE you frightened
to look at it?'
He had been holding out the tongs.
in which he gripped the stone lightly,
for some seconds, and l had not yet
ventured to touch them. sitting. l do
not doubt, with surprise written all
over my face. But when he spoke. I
took the opal from him, and turned
my strong glass upon 1t.
You seem to have brought me a
fine thing" l said as carelessly as
could. '1s 1t a stone with history?"
at has no history-at least, none
that should care to write"
"And yet" I continued, there can
not be three larger opals in Europe;
do you know the stone at Vienna?"
Perfectly; but it has not the black
of this, and is coarser This is an
older, SO far as the birth of its dis
covery goes, by hundred years."
thought that he was glib with his
tale for man who had such poor
one; and certainly he looked me in
the face with amazing readiness. He
had not the eyes of rogue, and his
manner was not that of one Grimm
ally restless.
''If you will allow me-" said. when
I had looked at the stone for a few
moments, II will examine this under
the brighter light there; perhaps you
would like to amuse yourself with this
parcel of rubies."
This was a favorite little trick of
mine. 1 had two or three parcels of
stones to show to any man who came
to me laboring under a sorry and pal
pably poor story; and one of these /
then took from my desk and spread
upon the table under the eyes of the
Russian. The stones were all imita-
ton. and worth no more than six
pence apiece. If he were Judge, he
would discover the cheat at the first
| sight of them: If he were swindler,
he would endeavor to steal them. In
either case the test was useful And
took care to turn my back upon him
while l examined the opal, to give
him every opportunity of filling his
pockets should he choose
! When l had the jewel under the
powerful light of an unshaded incan-
descent lamp could see that it mer-
tied all the appreciation l had bes-
towed upon it at first sight. 1t was
| flawless, wanting the demerit of a
single mark which could be pointed
to in depreciation of its price. For
play of color and radiating generos-
| ity Of hues, l have already said no
man has seen its equal. l put 1t in
| the scales, called Michel to establish
| my own opinions. tried 1t by every
test that can be applied to gem so
/ fragile and so readily harmed, and
came to the only conclusion possible
that 1t was a stone which would
make sensation in any market, and
call bids from all the courts in Eu-
rope. 1t remained for me to learn
the history of 1t, and with that 1 went
back to my desk and resumed the con-
versation, first glancing at the sham
parcel of rubies, to find that the man
had not even looked at them.
1T Is a remarkable OPAL" 1 said ;
''the finest ever put before me. You
have come here to sell it, presume?''
Exactly. 1 want G5000 for It,"
And if I make you bid you are
prepared to furnish me with the his.
tory both of 1t and of yourself?"
He shrugged his shoulders con
temptuously. "If you think that
have stolen 1t we had better close the
discussion at once. am not prepared
to tell my history to every trades
man / deal with
"In that case" said l. "you have
wasted your time. l buy no jewels
that l do not know all about
| His superciliousness was almost i'm.
pertinent. 1t would have been quite
so II it had not been dominated by an
| absurd and almost grotesque pride
which accounted for his temper.
was sure then that he was either an
honest man or the best actor 1 had
ever seen.
Think the matter over" added in
a less Indifferent tone; II am certain
that you will then acquit me OF un.
| reasonableness. Call here again in a
day or two, and we will have chat
about It,"
This softer speech availed me as
little as the other. He made no sort
Of answer to 1t, but packing his opal
carefully again, he rose abruptly and
left the shop. AS he went / touched
my bell twice, and Abel followed him
quietly down Piccadilly, while I sent