Bridgeton pioneer., 1914-08-27

ed Tor q safety deposit company. M
the way 1 submitted the jewels n v
diamond expert, who pronounced tb..
genuine, of excellent quality a.
offered me 100000 for the lot. At N
deposit company l rented box. lo0,E
ed the stones in it. then reported :.
matter to the police.
There had been several jewel mi,
berries reported, but none very latal'l
/ looked over the description in al
case, but none of them tailed wX
the case in hand. Mine were all ms
but this made no difference. for MI
might easily have been removed frO'
the setting. Mine were all diamond
while in the other cases the stons
consisted of various jewels.
By arrangement with the police
had each stone weighed and describsE
by a diamond expert, and they werE
authorized if any one described snv \
the jewels correctly to put him n
communication with me, that he mig
prove property. A number of deserirE
tions of stones or lots of stones cam
to me, but none tailed with those tb,
had been sent to me. 1t was impos
sible that should be imposed upon /,
a matter of weight alone.
The theory of the police was that thal
jewels had been stolen, probably ~
one lot, from diamond merchant wbaE
had reasons for not reporting his loss
Sometimes those losing goods. sus
pecting or not suspecting the thief
put private detective ON the case
who advises keeping the whole matta
secret. / showed the gems, the boys
In which they came, the paper in which
they had been wrapped, to detective
who studied them closely, but without
getting a clew, Had the box been al
new one he might possibly have traced
It from the maker to the person VIII!
had bought it, but it was evidenuy
very old, nothing of its kind havins*
been manufactured for many years.
I told no one except officials Of my
find for several months. Then l h
formed Lucy Larraway Of tt. She gaNs
me no assistance in ferreting out uss
sender. That had not yet heard from
him did not argue that I would moi
hear at any time, though the longa.
the delay the less likelihood. The fad.
Of their having been sent to me insteai
Of confederate tended to fndicah!
that when the thief had shipped them
his object was to get rid Of them with
out even calling for them.
Lucy suggested that there was somsI
story In high life connected with them
possibly a tragedy. She fancied, fel
instance, profigate son of wealthy
father stealing them from him, then
becoming terror stricken at exposur3
and slipping them at random A cas3
like this would probably never be ez|
posed.
AS time went on this theory or some
thing like it seemed to be gaining
ground with Lucy, and fell In with |
myself. ] stated it to the police, whs
told me that not a 1.-THE of the skee
tons in family closets ever walked oul
into the open. Possibly an explanatiOl
Of this case, of mine might come d
time; but there was little likelihood d
my having been put in possession d
the jewels temporarily or / woulj
have been called on for them befor,
now.
At last came to the conclusion Il
use the property for my advancement
At time following a financial panil
when securities were much depressed
i made a loan on the diamonds anl
bought productive property. A quicl
MISE followed, and sold cut at a con
siderable profit.
When told Lucy of what had dom
expected that she would blame mi
for jeopardizing property that Nigh
at any time be called upon to return
She did not seem to take this view d
1t, however. reminding me that had
done all could to discover the Owner
whereupon I told her that I now saw
no reason why we should not be mar
ried, and she consented.
For years the diamonds remained !
the safety deposit company's vault
Children grew up about Lucy and me
But prospered, and there was enougI
for al. When sons and daughten
were going to college and our expense
were considerable my wife suggesta
that, sell the jewelry and put tb
money into interest bearing propert
But declined TO do so, intending the1
for my children after my death.
For thirty years lived a happy m
with my dear wife; then she left me
Some time after her death I devote
myself to the melancholy duty of weed
ing out those numberless effects, con
sfsting of old letters and trinkets, tina
accumulate during a lifetime. Goinl
over some private papers Of hers,
found list OF diamonds, giving the;
standing as to purity and their a.
curate weight. I recognized that
comprised the gems which had bee
sent to me years agone. could no
remember my wife having had cop!
of this inventory.
Passing on to other papers in tD'
same receptacle, came upon a VII
executed more than thirty years befon
a-.rxT