Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-18


UVOU didn't" corrected Barnes
l. "When l reached the dining
room of the House of Hundred Key
you had just lost your senses, but tn
Brazilian was ready to take the count
Lord, baby could have banded hin
then. You surely did beat him up
But, fortunately for him. you didn'
strike him on the head and the doctors
have been able to patch him up"
What does be sayy'
Barnes smiled,
That's what I came to tell you. Nv
! just come from the prison and I've go
u complete confession.
1T beats anything that's ever com,
under my notice. The couceit of the
fellow Is colossal and it sticks out OF
every page of this statement"
"I--Jules Jacquette," it began.
'have been making history-inter
national history. In the interests of
truth. justice and my own fame,
herewith set down the exact facts i'll
connection with the famous diamond
nopularly known as the Star of the
South.
AT the outset may say that l was
engaged i'll smuggling ventures With
'"hr Johnson. the steward of tn" Do'~
Pedro; Hartley Glazicr, the diamond
dealer. aud Victor JAYNE. ne'er-d do
well. for many years. These scheme.
were profitable to us anG we smuegled
on such a scale that it was necessary
COR Glazicr. as the resident partner, to
secure place to keep the stuff, 1t was
thus that he came to secure the house
on the city line. the pace which !
have since heard designated as the
House of Hundred Keys.
"Rut it was in the earlv part of the
present year that / conceived my grand
'rheme and then all else seemed petty
~ comparison. Everyb body in BraHi'
knows the history of the Rod Di"mo""
NEARLY everybody knew that the half
of it which is owned by the govern e
n1ont was kept in a glass case III the
National Museum at Rio Janciro. Tens
Of thouSands-aye, hundreds of thou .
sands s-of persons have gazed on that
precious gem and wished that it might
We theirs.
''Of all that number only ono man
had the brains to conceive and tho Clcv -
erneSs to execute plan by which the
wish became reality. That man
was mysclf--Jules Jacquctte, the writer
of these lines, who is compelled to burst
forth i'll honest admiration of his own
genius!
''The plan was simplicity itself. 7
lu"w the night guard of the museum. Il
faithful old soul. who was in the habit
of takino the air in the evening seated
in an arm chair in front of the Srilled
oate which opens on Isabella avenue
| passed there one night and graciously
offered him n package Of cigarettes
which had been especially imported from
Turkey. He smoked one, two and then
three Of those famous connections. After
that the faithful one was Ubllvious Of
all that went on for the next thirty
minutes. The cigarettes had been heav-
lily drugged and as he inhaled each sep
parate Whit he drew into his mouth
and expelled from his noStrils the de-
lclouS but stupefying opium which was
to cost the government of Brazil the
loss of its most treasured possession.
The faithful one-purdon my repeated
irony, but these flashes of humor are
our salvation during the most trying
periods of our life-the faithful one
carried his KEYS on a girdle around bis
waist. 1t was easy to reach through
the open ironwork of the cate and get
the keys. | admitted myself. hurried
to the alcove where the diamond was
kept. possessed mvself of it and left in
its place a substitute which was in 70
tended to deceive the watchman when
he awohe, although | had no hope that
the officials would fail to note the sub
stitution.
THE thing worked like charm. The
faithful one slept in "A heaven of his
own. | carefully closed and locked the
gate and replaced the KEYS around the
waist OF this most conscientious old
man. | felt that | would have start
ot at least twenty Tour hours before the
theft aud the substitution were discov-
cred. Nv plan was to hasten TO the
United States. The Dom Pedro was TO
sail the following morning.
But how was | to enter the United
States with such Il famous diamond in
Snch a large and conspicuous setting
without attracting attention?
The Spanish ambassador to the
United States of America. who had
been spending Il few weeks in Brazil
before going on to his post at Wash
ingtou, was to sail on the Dom Pedro.
| knew very well that his trunks and
those of the members of his staff would
be passed through the custom house
without examination. Also I discovered
the character and appearance of his
trunks. and | had one made to cor
respond with them. ] knew that the
Spanish coat of arms on the side of
the trunks was their distinguishing
marx and /, myself, Jules Jacquctte--.
placed it on what has since been called
the thirteenth trunk.
so far so good. On the day of
sailing | had my steamer trunk-cov-
cred with canVas-placed in my state
room. On the day we landed in the
United States j had that same piece of
baggage, with the, guilty assistance of
the steward of the Dom Pedro, placed
with the belongings of the Spanish
Ambassador.
II resolved that this adventure of
the Red Diamond should be my own
personal enterprise-in word, / de-
cided that not a penny of the proceeds
Should be shared with the three lunk-
heads---is not that one Of your admir-
able American words ?--who had been
associated with me in petty smuggling.
Having come to decision in this
respect the next question was how !
should dispose of the diamond. -
AT this stage of my adventure I
was fortunate enough--or unfortunate
enough, if you choose--to meet Vi"tor
Jayne. He was on the same boat with
me. Indeed, it looked as if an evil
fate had decided that he should be there
for my purposes. / knew him as a
second rate thief. He had engaged with
US IN the smuggling business, but | did