The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-02-15
The Mother Stone.
tJohn Galsworthy in London Nation)

II was after dinner, and five elderly
Englishmen were discussing the causes
of the war.
well" said Travers big, fresh
oolored grey beard, with little twink
ling eyes and very slow speech, you
gentlemen know more about 1t than !
do but bet you | can lay my finger
on the cause Of the war at any min
ute"
There was an instant clamor of jeer-
ing. But man called Askew who
knew Travers well, laughed and said:
Come let's face it," Travers turned
those twinkling little eyes of his slow
~ round the circle, and with heavy,
hesitating modesty began:
Well Mr. Askew, it was in 81 or '68
that this happened to a great big
Teller of my acquaintance named Ray
--one of those fellers, you know, that
are always on the lookout to make
their fortunes and never do. This Ray
was coming back south one day after
a huntin' trip he'd been in what's now
called Bechuanaland, and he was in a
pretty bad way when he walked one
evenin' into the camp of one Of those
wanderin' Beers. That class of Beers
disappeared now. They'd no farms Of
their own, but just moved on with
their stock and their boys and when
they came to good pasture they'd out
span and stay there till they'd cleared
1t out--and then trek on again. Well,
this old Boer told Ray to come right
in, and take a meal; and heaven knows
what 1t was made Of for those old
Beers, they'd eat the devil himself
without onion sauce, and relish him.
After the meal the old Boer and Ray
sat smokin' and yarnin' in the door OF
the tent, because in those days these
wandern' Beers used tents. Right
close by in the front. the children were
playin' in the dust game like mar
hles. with three or four round stones,
and they'd pitch em up to another
stone they called the Moer- Kip or
Mother stone--one, two and pick up
two, three and pick up-you know the
game of marbles. Well, the sun was
settin' and presently Ray noticed this
Moer- Kip that they were pitchin' 'em
up to- shinin'; and he looked at 1t, and
he said to the old Boer: What's that
stone the children are playin WITH
And the old Boer looked at him and
looked at the stone, and said: It's just
stone an went on smokin'.
Well Ray went down on his knees
and picked up the stone. and weighed
II in his hand. About the size of
hazel-nut it was, and looked-well. it
looked like piece of alum; but the
more he looked at it. the more he
thought: BY Jove, I believe it's
diamond
so he said to the old Boer: Where
did the children get this stone? And
the old Boer said: oh! the shepherd
picked 1t up somewhere And Ray
said Where did he pick 1t up?' And
the old Boer waved his hand. and said:
Over the Kopje, there beyond the
river How should / know, brother?-
4 stone is stone!' So Ray said: You
let ME take this stone away with mel!
and he said One stones the same as
another Take it, brother And Ray
said: If it's\ what I think. I'll give you
half the price | get for it.
1.-THE old Boer smiled and said.
That's all right, brother; take it, take
it.
THE next mornin Ray left this old
Boer, and. when he was going, he said
to him: Well he said, 7 believe this |
Is a valuable stone!' and the old Boer
smiled because he knew one stone |
was the same as another
THE first place Ray came to was
c., and he went to the hotel and
in the evenin' he began talkin' about
the stone and they all laughed at him,
because in those days nobody had
heard of diamonds in South Africa So
presently he lost his temper, and pull
ed out the stone and showed it round;
but nobody thought it was. a diamond,
and they all laughed at him the more.
Then one of the felers said: If it's
diamond 1t ought to cut glass
''Ray took the stone and, by Jove,
he cut his name on the window, and
there it is--I've seen it--on the bar !
window of that hotel. Well. next day, I
you bet, he travelled straight back to
where the old Boer told him the shep-
herd had picked up the stone, and he
went to a native chief called Jointje
and said to him: Jointje' he said. I
go journey, While | go, you go
about and send all your boys about h
and look for all the stones that shine b
like this one. and when I come back, LIP
Il You find plenty, ] give you gum And
Jointje said: That all right, boss +
And Ray went down to Cape Town,
nd took the stone to a jeweler, and +
he jeweler told him 1t was a diamond
Of about 80 or 40 carats, and gave him +
i've hundred pounds for it. So he
bought wagon and a span of oxen A
o give to the old Boer and went to
I0intje. The nigsers had collected
'kinfuls of stones of all kinds. and out T