The Prescott daily news., 1915-04-27


 'chips."
 The cutter himself was rather a frowsy looking old chap. He wore a greasy old brocade dressing gown and eyeglasses which resembled the chauf- feurs goggles.
 He finished polishing a stone, locked if up and left the room. In the hall outside this den was a dumb waiter. From this he took can of oil and re- turned
 He filled the lamp and lit it, then sat aown and smoked his pipe in the atti- tude of waiting for some one.
 At 9 three men arrived at the door of the tenement. They stood idly in the doorway for a minute, then tucked inside.
 But Jim Baird, who had been fol- lowing them steadily for an hour or more, was quite confident that some where In yonder tenement was the wonderful crook diamond cutter he had so often heard about during his masquerade as Hassam Ali.
 What a chance there had been for real honest money in that old inventor of diamonds whose shop had been back of the cheese makers! But he had to go and die.
 Baird did not thrill pleasurably at the sight of the gun man called Gyp. He had already in his capacity as re- porter run up against that murderous scoundrel, and Gyp had sworn he'd 'get him."
 He loitered about, wishing to give the rogues plenty of time. What he wanted was good look at the dia- mond cutters shop.
 He had no interest in the three crooks who had shown him the way here. Two of them had beaten him up not more than fortnight gone, so he was perfectly willing to keep out of their way
 The crooks climbed the three flights of rickety, creaking stairs until they came to the lapidary's door.
 The gun man used the knocker With his machine humming the cutter could not hear the sound of ordinary knuckes.
 Gyp rapped three times and then showed aside the knocker revealing a small hole.
 He passed through q slip of paper Jim Baird Has Been Following Them
 Steadily For an Hour. the same Mme Du Val had given him and waited.
 Presently the door opened-after a slithering of steel bars and clinking of chains
 Got some candy for yuh, ol' gamon!' said Gyp cheerfully You know who sent 'em. Seven shirt lamps, mazda power Take a tenth of carat off O each Them's tn orders."
 An | keeps tn chips"
 Sure. Gimme a receipt They love me, but they don't trust me, an ain't wantin' t make tn tide any high CT in East river when she rolls in t'morrer"
 Then there's some one you're afraid of?"
 "Surest thing, bor'
 Hand 'em over. An,' say, start 'er up. l never seen diamond nicked down."
 "Jus' to please the ladiesr' cried the lapidary, going to his machine
 It took a long time for his friends to come down, thought Baird. Finally he determined to risk meeting them.
 He entered the building and tiptoed up the stairs. The burr of machinery caught his ear, and he knew that he need not go any farther.
 He tried the doorknob, but only half heartedly. Such a door would never be unlocked.
 Then he heard voices. All were there yet If he could but find a rope!
 He peeked into the dumb waiter and found an unused coil of manila hemp on the top of it. Just what he wanted. Next he hunted around for the scut- tie ladder and crept up on to the roof. He tied the rope to chimney and gen tly lowered himself down to the lapi- darys window
 Nothing doing there Blinds were closed. He cou1 see four men, but could not distinguish any features. And what he wanted most of all was one good look at the man who pared fortunes from diamonds, as it were He wanted this knowledge keenly.
 An, he was turning! The light was striking in his face. Baird drew him. self up quickly, regained the hall and stole down the street
 If Hunts private rogue's gallery held no likeness of this cuttpr then if was