Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-02-11

rms CroShar-Or whatever his name
ls,-seems to be a Extraordinary %feller,'
observed Grady, %relighting his cigar.
He is" agreed M. Pigot. quietly: "a
most extraordinary man. But even he
Is not infallible; for, since the memoir
made no mention of the other secret
drawer-the one in which Madame la
Duchesse concealed her love letters
Orchard knew nothing of it. 1t was
that fact which defeated his combina-
tlons-a pure accident which he could
not forsee. And now. gentlement, it
shall be my pleasure to diplay before
You some very beautiful briliants."
Not until that instant had / thought
or h the drawer contained: l had
been too fascinated by the poisoned
fangs INC by the story told so quietly
put SO effectively by the French de-
t%ective; but now 1 perceived that the
drawer was filled with little rolls of
cotton, which had been pressed into it
quite tightly.
M. Pigot removed the first of these,
uhrolled it and spread it u upon the
desk, and instantly we caught the gilt
Ter of diamonds-diamonds so large. so
brilliant, so faultlessly white hat !
drew a deep breath of admiration.
Even M. Pigot, evidently as he prided
himself upon his imperturbability, could
not look upon those gems wholly I'M
moved; a slow colour crept into his
1900 80 NV aoN1i Il NilSlil, dAiu
ne picked up one or two of the larger
ones to admire them more closely. Then
he unfolded roll after roll, stopping
from time to time for a look at the larg-
er brilliants.
These are from the famous necklace
which he Grand Duke inherited from
his grandmother" he said, calling our
attention to a little pile of marvellous
gems in one Of the last packets.
"Crochard, of course, removed them
from their settings-that was newt
able. He could melt down the settings
and sell the gold; but not one of these
brilliants would be marketable i'll
is a marked gem. Here in America,
your police regulations are not so COM
plete; but l fancy that, even here, he
would have had difficulty in marketing
this one" n he unfolded the last
packet, n held up to the light a rose
diamond which seemed to me as large
as a walnut, and aglow with lovely
color.
Perhaps you have stopped to admire
the MaZarin diamond in the galerie d
Apollon at the Louvre" said M. Pigot.
There is always a crowd about that
case, and a special attendant is in
stalled there to guard it, for it con
tains some articles of great value. But
the Mazarin is not one of them; for it
is not a diamond at all; it is paste-a
paste facsimile of which this is the
original. oh. 1t is all quite honest he
added, as Grady snorted d~erisively.
Some years ago, the director of the
Louvre needed a fund for the pur-
chase Of new paintings; needed also to
clean and restore the old one. They
decided that it was folly to keep 3,000,-
600 of francs imprisoned in q. single
gem, when their Michael Angeles and
da Nincis and Murillos were encrrstcd
with dirt and fading daily. So they
sought a purchaser for the Mazarin
they found n in the empress of Rus
STA. who had a craze for precious stones.
and who, at her death, left this remark
able collection to her favorite son, who
had inherited her passion. A paste
replica of the Mazarin vas placed in
the Loupvre for the crowds to admire.
and every one soon forgot that it was not
really the diamond. For myself, l think
the directors acted most wisely. And
now" he added with a, gesture toward
the glittering heaps, what shall we do
with all this?"
There's only one thing to do" said
Grady, awaking suddenly as from a
trance, and that's to get them in R
safe deposit box as quick as possible.
There's no police safe I'd trust with 'em!
Why. they'd tempt the angel GABRIEL"
and he drew a deep breath.
Can we find a box Of safe deposit
at this hour Of the night" asked NJ.
Pigot, glancing at his watch. at is
almost / o'clock and a half"
That's easy in New York" said
Grady. Well take 'em over to the
Day and Night bank on Fifth avenue
1t never closes. Wait till l get some
thing to put 'em in"
He went out and came back presently
with a small valise.
This will do" he said. STOW EN-
away, and I'll call up the bank. and
arrange for the box"
Simmonds and Pigot rolled up the
packets carefully and placed them in
the valise. while l sat watching them
in a kind Of daZe. And l understood
the temptation which would assail a
man in the presence of SO much beauty.
1t was not the value of the Jewels
which shook and dazzled mel scarcely
thought of that; 1t was their seduc-
tive brilliance, it was the thought that,
If l possessed them. | might take them
out al any hour of the day or night
and run my fingers through them and
watch them simmer and culver in the
light.
The Grand Duke Michael must have
been considerably upset. remarked
Simmonds, who. throughout all this
scene, had lost no whit Of his serenity
of demeanor.
He has been like a madman." said
M. Pigot. smiling a little at Simmond's
uIlelllollOlal tone. 'lleSe Jewels are
a passion with him; he worships them;
he never has parted with them, even
for a day; where he goes, they have
gone. In his most desperate need of
money-and he has had such need
many times-he has never sold one of
his brilliants. On the contrary, when
ever he has money or credit. and the
opportunity m to purchase a stone
OF unusual beauty. he cannot resist,
even though his debts go unpaid.
Since the loss OF these stones, he has
raved. he has cursed. he has beat his
servants-one of them has died. in con-
sequence. We are all a little mad on
some one subject. 1 nave heard it said:
well. the Grand Duke Michael is very
mad on the subject of diamonds"
Why didn't he offer a reward for
their return" queried Simmonds.
oh. he did" said M. Pigot. He Of
tered Immediately his whole fortune
for their return. But his fortune was
not large enough to tempt Crochard.
for the Grand Duke really has nothing
put the income from his family estates.
and you may well believe that he
spends all Of it. It will be a great ioy
to him that We have found them"
The thought flashed through NV
mine that doubtless NJ, Pfgot was n