The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1920-03-27

trinEetS 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-
Spectine thief would take, precious as
they may have been TO their owner.
| locked up that case and returned it
to the safe and opeIred the other.
+ As | raised the Id an involuntary
exclamation of amaZement ana admi-
ration escaped me. There, Nesting in
the center of 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 i'm
the tray and began To investigate the
/ other treasures the caSkpt contained.
In other traps in the box / found dia-
mondS galore. great solitaire that
must have been all of seven CaratS,
dinner rings, bar pins. creSCentS. stars.
earrings, and in compartment all
ny Itself, tiara Of rubieS and dia-
mondS. There was also variety of
, other gems. pins and rings wrought
/ III curious designs with rubieS. dia-
mondS. sapphires, and pearls, some UNI
set diamonds and loose fragments Of
pieces that had evidently been torn
/ apart 10 add TO other settings the
collection of woman with unlimited
money 10 spend.
With trembling hands restored the
jewels 10 their hiding place. twice test
ing the knob tn make sure that the
combination had set The unexpected
sight of such 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 million dollars
worth Of precious stones In that one
casket. The Castor pearls in them
selves were a fortune.
IL onlg they were mine,
To every honest man at times come
temptations rs great ~ come to any
criminal. No man knows whether or
not he is honest until he has been put
to the test. | knew was tempted.
strongly tempted. To take my great
aunt'S Jewels. What was tn 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 | could satisfy my craving for
adventure. i could travel the world
over.
Yet, as l look back at il. all the
time | was thinking these thoughts, |
knew would not take the jewels. A
normal man cannot steal. Even when
his desires lead him to theft, his mind
points out the folly and his conscience
the wrong.
ReSolutely l 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 reveries
about my delightful new acquaintance
the girl who lived just across the hall
| pictured mySelf nndlng some way OF
winning her confidence and of helping
her out of her mysterious trouble. And
what II eventually old Rufus should
make me his heir? Surely | would
need mate with whom to share the
joys of having fortune. With Wis
ions of Barbara Bradford bedecked
with my great-aunt's choicest jewels
fell asleep.
1t was almost dusk when l was
awakened by the arrival of the ex
pressman with my trunks. After
had receipted for them and had un
packed, suddenly realized that I was
hungry, for l had eaten nothing since
breakfast. Hastily donned my
clothes. stopping only TO count my