Evening star., 1922-10-29

on tue bO"tfS' UP 90 S'''~
u Fifth avenue-all kinds, for
all kinds of business. buying or sell
ing They're a wise crowd. lhey
have to be. They get some danger
Gus propositions put up to them, ana
some wild ones, particularly in hard
times.
Thes had some extra wild ones In
that financial caye-in after the war
especially the Fifth avenue ones. HAIR
the upper West Side was fighting 10
drive the wolf from the new rimou-
sine door.
1t was a year ago last March-at
the worst of it-when this one I'm
telling you of drifted into Harry
Volpes place on Fifth avenue in the
late afternoon. Volpe was alone in
the office, staring down out of his
second-story front window on the two
streams of automobile tops on the
avenue.
You the proprietor" asked this
stranger back of him at the entrance
ii big. red faced husky. with big
shoulders and a small nose and red
necktie Nolpe figured him right
away then as some sort of a con-
tractor.
sure" he said. coming over. dust
ing his hands. "Whatll you have?
My names Coogan-Dan Coogan,"
said the big man. introducing him
self.
Glad to know you" said Harry
Volpe sizing him up. What can L
do for you?'
What would you say this was
WORTH" said the stranger. reaching in
and dragging out big diamond necklace
,nst seemed to be lying loose without
.nv case in the right-hand lower
booklet of his coat.
What you paid for it, or what you
could reaIize?" Volpe asked him. still
sizing him up-the way you have to
in that business. And went over it
with his glass and told him what he
might probably get-if he got a
buyer.
But you'd have hard work finding
one lust now for anything as big as
that l know wouldn't buy it-not
now"
You couldn't. not if you wanted
to-" said the other man. II wouldn't
sell it for all the money in Wall
street.
And he looked as if he meant 1t.
But here's the thing l want to
know" he said. Gould you pull out
enough stones from this to stand for
pledge for n-thousand- dollar
loan"'
why, yes, probably" said Folpe,
though we don't generally want to
handle unset stones. Because-you
know
They're apt to be stolen. huh? Is
that it?' said the big man.
Yeah. They break them up out OF
their settings so they can't be iden-
titled"
But you've got your setting here.
II wasn't talking about this" said
volpe. Il was just telling you"
Well. about how many would you
sayo" the customer asked him.
And he told him about a third OF
them.
Now. the next thing said the man.
satisfied apparently, "is-could you
take this? Could you take that
amount of stones out of their settings
and put back substitutes in their
place-good ones. so they wouldn't
be noticed?'
NO. Not by an expert
NO. mean just any ordinary
person"
why, yes. probably-if 1 had the
time"
NOW. then. another thing" he said.
~ fixing his little blue-gray eyes
~; imnOTtant.
How long would be the shortest
time you could do it in if you had
everything all ready and waiting to
do it with? Take these out of their
settings and put the phoney ones In.
Could you do it In a day."
81 might" said Volpe, looking them
over seeing they were good. stand
ard cut.
"What'n it cost-the whole thing?
Ten thousand for three months?"
asked the man, his eyes boring in
still.
Volpe figured out a good thing on
IL and told him what he'd do.
Your mind acts quickly in that
business. You get so you size your
man up. SO finally he said he'd give
it to him.
But now it's understood" said the
man, you'll have to have 1t all done
in a day when I bring it in?'
why, what's the great hurry?"
asked volpe. looking at him. starting
wondering little then.
IT'S my wife. She'll want to wear
them. You know how women are"
Volpe nodded. He knew some
things about the women and their
freaks and whims. You do. handling
jewelry.
'And don't call me up at the apart
mont, either. Til bring them in some
day soon-I can't be sure just when.
But I don't want you calling up my
vifa You know how women are
about such things" he said again.
looking nervous, volpe noticed at the
time.
He noticed that. You keep your
eyes open in that business, and the
deal was queer on the face of it. But
it wAs no queerer than others he'd
had. And the man didn't look like a
crook TO him then. But that wasn't
what decided him. It was something
sursr than that, or 1t looked SO then.
II he had been . crook and he had