The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-07-24

trinkets of Il vain old woman, treas
ured from the time when the money
to buy them was scarce. There was
nothing in the lot that any self-re-
speeding thief would take, precious as
they may have been to their owner
l locked up that case and returned it
to the safe and opened the other.
As ! raised the lid an involuntary
exclamation of amazement and admi-
ration escaped me. There, nesting in
the center of a velvet-lined tray, lay
cleaning the most wonderful mass Of
irideScent pearls | ever had laid eyes
on, surely worth vast fortune. Turn
ing them over and over admiringly in
the light, at last ! laid them back in
the tray and began to investigate the
other treasures the caSket contained.
In other traps in the box | found dia-
mOnds galore, a great solitaire that
must have been all of seven carats,
dinner rings, bar pins, Crescents, stars,
earrings. and in a compartment all
by itself, a tiara Of rubies and dia-
monds. There was also a variety of
other gems. pins and rings wrought
in curious designs with rubies, dia-
mondS, Sapphires, and pearls, some I'M
ser diamonds and loose fragments Of
pieces that had evidently been torn
apart to add to other settings the
collection of a woman with unlimited
money to spend,
With trembling hands | restored the
jewels to their hiding place, twice test
ing the knob to make sure that the
combination had set. The unexpected
sight of such a vast fortune in gems
had filled me with strange emotions,
with thoughts so evil | hardly dared
admit them to myself. There must
have been nearly half a million dollars
worth of precious stones in that one
caSket. The Castor pearls in them,
selves were a fortune.
If only they were mine!
To every honest man at times come
temptations as great as come to any
criminal. No man knows whether or
not he is honest until he has been put
to the test. l knew! | was tempted
strongly tempted. to take my great
aunt's Jewels. What was to hinder
The old couple were to be absent for
months. They had left me in charge
and had given me their keys and the
safe combination. There would he
abundant time for disposing Of the
| jewels before their theft was discOv,
cred. With the money they would
bring l could satisfy my craving fol-
adventure. / could travel the world
over.
Yet, as | look back at it, all the
time l was thinking these thoughts,
knew l would not take the jewels. A
normal man cannot steal. Even wher
his desires lead him to theft his mind
points ont the folly and his conscience
the wrong.
Resolutely | put the thought of the
| jewels out of my head--Or tried to
and stretching myself out on a cOucH
gave myself up to pleasant reverie'
about my delightful new acquaintance
the girl who lived just across the hall
l pictured myself finding some way Of
winning her confidence and of helping
her out of her mysterious trouble. AnC
what if eventually old Rufus SHOULD
make me his heir? Surely l wOulC
need mate with whom to share thu
joys of having a fortune. With Wis
ions of Barbara Bradford bedeckeC
with my great-aunt's choicest jewels
/ fell asleep.
1t was almost dusk when l wa
awakened by the arrival of the ex
pressman with my trunks After
had receipted for them and had un
packed, suddenly realized that wa
hungry, for l had eaten nothing sine
breakfast. Hastily l donned m
clothes. stopping only to count m