The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1912-06-25
BY MAX PEMBERTON
(Copyrlgh,. ~ w. @. Chapman-)


commercial instinct would have hest
tated to set a price?
/ had fully determined that l was
face to face with a swindler. when
his exclamation reminded me that he
expected me to speak.
Well" 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 / had not yet
ventured to touch them, sitting. ] do
not doubt, with surprise written all
over my face. But when he spoke, 1
took the opal from him, and turned
my strong glass upon 1t.
you seem to have brought me
fine thing" l said as carelessly as I
could. rs 1t stone with history"
ut has no history-at least, none
that / should care to write"
And yet" ! continued. there can
not be three larger opals In Europe;
do you know the stone at Vienna?"
Perfectly; but 1t has not the black
OF this, and is coarser. This is an
older, so far as the birth OF it's dis
covery goes, by a hundred years"
thought that he was glib with his
tale for man who had such a 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
l 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 q favorite little trick of
mine. / had two or three parcels of
stones to show to any man who came
TO me laboring under n sorry and pal
pably poor story; and one of these l
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 a swindler,
he would endeavor to steal them. In
either case the test was useful. And
/ took care to turn my back upon him
while / examined the opal, to give
him every opportunity OF filling his
pockets should he choose
When / had the jewel under the
powerful light Of an unshaded mean
| descent lamp / could see that 1t mer-
tied all the appreciation / had bes-
towed upon 1t at first sight II was
HAWKES., wanting the demerit OF a
single mark which could be pointed
to in depreciation OF it's price For
play Of color and radiating generos-
ity OF hues, / have already said no
man has seen its equal. 1 put it in
the scales, called Michel to establish
my own opinions, tried it by every
test that can be applied to a gem so
fragile and so readily harmed, and
came to the only conclusion possible
that 1t was a stone which would
mako a sensation in any market, and
call bids from all the courts In Eu-
rope. 1t remained for me to learn
the history OF it, and with that 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.
ut is a remarkable opal" I said:
the finest ever put before me. You
have come here to sell it, presumed"
Exactly. 1 want $4,000 for It,"
And If I make you a bid you are
prepared to furnish me with the his
tory both of it and of yourself?"
He shrugged his shoulders con-
temptuously. IF you think that I
have stolen 1t we had better close the
discussion at once. I am not prepared
to tell my history to every trades
man / deal with"
I'm that case" said I, you have
wasted your time. / buy no Jewels
that do not know all about"
His superoliousness was almost I'm
pertinent. 1t would have been quite
so If 1t 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 I had
ever seen.
Think the matter over" added IN
less Indifferent tone; Il am certain
that you will then acqult me OF un-
reasonableness. Call here again In
day or two, and we will have O chat
about IT,"
This softer speech availed me as
little as the other. He made no sort
Of answer to It, 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 sent
a line to Scotland Yard informing the
commissioners OF the presence Of
such man as the Russian In Lon
don, and OF the Gargantuan jewel he
carried. Then / went home through
the fog and the humid night, but my
way was lighted by a memory Of the
magnificent gem ] had seen, and the
hunger for the opal was already upon
me
The inquiry at Scotland Yard proved
quite futile. The police telegraphed
to Paris, to Berlin, to St. Petersburg.
to New York. but got no tldings eth
or Of a robbery or Of the man whom
mere circumstances pointed at as
pretender This seemed to me the
more amazing since I could not con-
ceive that a stone such as this was
should not have made sensation IN
some place. Jewels above all ma
terial things do not hide their light