Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-11

of the gentler sex was present, he apolo
gized handsomely and blamed his bad
temper on Bromley Barnes. Converse
ton, under the circumstances, was so
difficult that it was abandoned. The
reckless driver was having the time
of his life. Aside from the fact that
he was an Irishman and red headed. he
lovingly thought Of the five dollar gold
piece which Barnes had slipped him
as an incentive to speed. With this
combination n traffic policeman counted
for less than the dust in the road
and if the Angel Gabriel had appeared
and commanded him to slow up he
would have been as blind as bat and
as deaf as n post.
Presently the lights of the city pass
cd from view and the taxi reached the
broad, smooth highway leading to the
Burlington pike. II was a happy re-
lief. Collector Frcad was not n cow
ard. but there were times when the
machine was turning the street corners
when each of the hairs on his glorious
head must have stood up in solemn, if
silent, protest. Conversation was pos
sible now and the collector turning to
me said:
Garland, 7 was interrupted in my
office while | was trying to interpret
a very veNatious customs regulation
Yes, sir?" | answered, interroga-
lively.
Barnes has kept me Informed re-
garding all of the details of this peculiar
case he continued. ut seems that
some of the relatives of this Colonel
Wharton have been alarmed because
they feared he might be liable to arrest
and imprisonment on the charge of
smuggling this Red Diamond into the
United states. Am | correctly in
formed?"
was particularly distressed on this ac-
count and I'm afraid that her fear
has caused most of the complications
in this case"
II sce,' commented the collector.
Like the southern darky she's had
lot of trO,.Olc in her time-most of
which never happened"
This light and frivolous reference to
Dora Wharton did not please me in the
least and I hastened to her defense.
Its happened, all right. Mr.. Col
lector, and the fact that much of it
was needless is not going to make the
girl any better
He twirlcd his glasses about for
moment or two and then said to me
in his best cross examining tone:
''This-this Colonel Wharton rested
under the. impression that he was
smuggler.
He did"
"Well. he wasn't"
| started up out of my seat at this
astonishing statement.
'Why notY' | gasped.
Simply because nothing was SNUG
gled. "
l laughed mirthlessly and slowly re-
sumeG my seat
Collector, don't feel like being
ioshed."
He frowned.
II don't quite comprehend your jar
Gon about being joshed, but l have dis
tinctly said that there was no snug
Cling in this case and | repeat it. My
remarks need an explanation. Very
well; I'll try to explain. Under the
law of August ). 1909. there is an
eXplicH provision made for the free
entry of works of art which shall have
been produced more than one hundred
years prior to their importation. Hence.
if an article is permitted to come into
this country free of duty it would be
impossible to smuggle it. Do you get
the drift of my remarks?'
Yes" spoke Bromley Barnes, "but
it all depends upon whether that clause
of the tariff bill can be made to apply
to this diamond. l know the act very
well. It's called the antique act. But
can you call a diamond an antique?
How old is the Star of the South?"
/ grinned at the question.
81 should say it was thousands of
years old-it must be as venerable as
the hills of Brazil from which it was
dug"
"Oh. you know what l mean re-
torted the old man, impatiently. How
long has it been since it was discovered
and cut into it's present form?'
Hundreds of years-beyond the
shadow of n doubt
well, that settles the age part, :"
agreed Barnes. "The next question is
whether it comes under the provisions
Of this act. As | understand the act.
the article to be admitted free must
not only be an antique. but an artistic
antique
"Well," said the collector, cts cut
like any other diamond"
But is that cutting the work OF an
artist: might it not be done by any
skilled artisan?'
Collector Fread turned to me.
What have you to say. Garlandt'
Thus appealed to, / tried to marshal
my thoughts so that they might be
spoken in a way that would satisfy
the official conscience of the collector.
II say" | began. that Barnes is
right about the cutting. That may be
the work of an artist. but it is not
necessarily so. But there is some
thing you all seem to have overlooked,
and that is the setting. The sunburst
in which that red diamond is set is a
work of art. if ever there was one. and
I'll swear that it is over hundred
years old"
"How about that, collector" queried
Barnes. Does the setting, If it is ar
tistic and antique, carry the stone with
it?'
Fread cleared his throat, adjusted
his glasses and pulled down his waist
coat. Then he declared in his most
judicial manner:
"Undoubtedly it does. I have gone
over the regulations carefully, and they
tell me that if this diamond had come
under our observation in the ordinary
way l should have admitted it free of
duty"
DO you mean to say that we have
been on a wild goose chase?' demanded
Barnes, sternly.
Hardly" was the stately reply. "be-
cause while | have demonstrated off
cially that the diamond could not have
been smuggled, you are all aware that
it has actually been stolen. In this
VaYEpcoFfI