Evening star., 1922-03-18
TheDia1n0nd Maker
By ARTHUR B. REEVE
One of The Stars Weekend Fiction Series Complete in
Three InstaLlments
By ARTHUR B. REEVE

I
off the outside.
You see we have to get down to
the core of carbon gently" he said.
as he picked up the little pieces OF
iron and threw them into scrap
box. "First rather brittle cast iron,
then hard iron, then iron and carbon
then some black diamonds, and In the
very center the diamonds.
"Ah! we are getting to them. Here
is small diamond. See. Mr.. Spencer
gently, Francois-we shall come to
., the large ones presently"
terrupted Craig; "let your assistant
break them out while 1 stand over
him."
Impossible. You would not know
when you saw them. They are just
rough stones" :
"Oh, yes. would"
mo. stay where you are. Unless. I
attend to it the diamonds might be
ruined"
There was something peculiar about
his insistence, but after he picked out
the next diamond 1 was hardly pre-
pared for Kennedy's next remark.
Let me see the palms OF your
hands,"
Poissan shot an angry glance at
Kennedy, but he did not open his
hands.
II merely wish to convince you. Mr..
Spencer" said Kennedy to me, that
! it is no sleight- -of-hand trick and that
the professor has not several uncut
stones palmed in his hand like a
prestidigitator.
The Frenchman faced US, his face
livid with rage. You call me q
prestidigitator. a fraud-you shall
suffer for that! Sacrebleu! Ventre du
! Saint Girls! No man ever insults the
honor of Poissan. Francois, water on
| the electrodes
The assistant dashed a few drops Of
, water on the electrodes. The sicktsh
odor increased tremendously. l felt
myself almost going, but with an effort
I again reused myself. 1 wondered
how Craig stood the fumes. for
suffered an intense headache and
nausea.
"Stop" Craig thundered. There's
enough 'cyanosen In this room al
| ready. know your game-the water
forms acetylene with the carbon. and
! that uniting with the nitrogen of the
air under the terrific heat of the
electric arc forms hydrocyanic acid.
Would you poison us. too? Do you
| think you can put me unconscious out
on the street and have a society doc
tor diagnose my case as pneumonia? !?
Or do you think we shall die quietly
in some hospital, as a certain New
York banker did last year after he
had watched an alchemist make sill
yer out OIL
The effect on Poissan was terrible.
He advanced toward Kennedy, the
veins in his face fairly standing out.
| Shaking his fQrefnger, he shouted:
You know that. do you? You are
no professor. and this is no banker.
You are spies. spies. You come from
the friends of Morowitch. do you?
You have gone too far with me-" =:
Kennedy said nothing, but retreat
ed and took his coat and hat off the
window ledge. The hideous pene-
trating light of the tongues Of fame
from. the furnace played on the
ground-glass window.
Poissan laughed a. hollow laugh.
Put down your hat and coat.
Mistair Kennedy" he hissed. THE
door has been locked ever since you
have been here. Those windows are
it is three hundred feet to the street.
We shall leave you here when tho
fumes have overcome you. Francois
and l can stand them up to a point,
and when we reach that point we are
going"
Instead Of being cowed. Kennedy
! grew bolder. though I. for my part.
| felt SO weakened that 1 feared the
outcome of a hand-to-hand encounter
! with either Poissan or Francois. who
appeared as fresh as If nothing had
happened. They were hurriedly pre-
THAT would do you no good" Ken
uedy rejoined. for we have no safe
| full of jewels for you to rob. There
! are no keys to Offices to be stolen
. from our pockets. And let me tell
you-you are not the only man in
/ New York who knows the secret Of
thermit. I have told the secret to
the police, and they are only waiting
to find wh4 destroyed Morowitch's
| correspondence under the letter 'P' to
! apprehend the robber of his safe.
Your secret is out"
| Revenge! Revenge" Poissan cried.
! Il will have revenge. Francois,
, bring out the jewels-ha! ha!-here
, in this bag are the jewels Of Mr..
] Morowitch. Tonight Francois and I
will go down by the back elevator to
secret exit. In two hours all your
police in New York cannot find us.
But in two hours you two impostors
| will be suffocated-perhaps you will
! die of cyanogen. like Morowitch,
i whose jewels 1 have at last"
He went to the door into the hall
and stood there with a mocking
| ward them, but Kennedy raised hts
hand.
Just then we heard the elevator
door clang. and hurried steps came
down the long hall.
Craig whipped out his automatic
and began pumping the bullets out
| in rapid succession. AS the smoke
| cleared I expected to see Poissan and
Francois lying on the floor. Instead.
| door. He had shattered 1t into a