Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 February 1908 — The KING of DIAMONDS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The KING of DIAMONDS.

By Louis Tracy,

9 Author of "Wings of the Morning,” "The Pillar of £ Light.” Etc, + ► COPYRIGHT. 1904, By EDWARD J. CLODE.

**Oh, lie treated"*you kindly today, did be?” snarled Isaacsteln, “Yea, most kindly.” “You don’t drink, I suppose?” broke In the other abruptly. “No; I am only a boy of fifteen and do not need stimulants.” He was favored with a sharp glance at this remark, but he bent over his

diamond** again and began to examine them one by one. He knew that the action wuh tantalizing to his companion, aud that is why he did it Isaacsteln went to a sideboard and poured out a stiff glass of brandy. He swallowed it as an ordinary person takes an oyster. “That’s better," he said, returning to his desk. “Now we can get to close quarters. Hand over the stones.” Philip did nothing of the sort “Why?” he inquired blandly. “You know all about them. You can hardly want to examine them so frequently.” “Confound it!” cried Isaacsteln, growing red with renewed Impatience. “What more can I do than agree to your terms?” v “I asked you for an advance of £SO. I Bald nothing about leaving the diamonds in your charge. Please listen to me. I make no unreasonable demands. If you wish to keep the stones now you must first write me a letter stating the agreement between us. If it is right I will give you the diamonds. If it is not according to my Ideas you must alter it” “Do you think I mean to swindle you?” “-I have no views on that point. -I am only telling you what my conditions are.” Isaacsteln sat back In his chair and regarded Philip fixedly! and with as much calmness as he could summon to his aid. A ray of sunshine illumined a bald patch on the top of his bend, and the boy found himself Idly speculating on in the man’s future life. The man/on his part, was seeking to read the 7 boy’s Inscrutable character, but tfik fixity of Philip’s gaze at his depttded crown disconcerted him agaij*^ “What afe you looking at?” he demandisPsuddenly. “I vnis wondering how you will look whUn yon go to heaven, Mr. Isancsteln,” was the astounding reply. “You Imagine, then, that I may deal fairly with you?” he said at last. ““Oh. yes. Why should you rob me? You can earn more money than you cnn ever need in this world by looking after my Interests properly. If only you will believe this statement it will save you much future worry, I assure you.” “Were you tn earnest when you said that you have an abundance of stones like those In your hands?” “So many. Mr. Isaacsteln, that you will have some trouble In disposing of them. I have diamonds nfi big, as biglet me see—as big as an egg.” >PvTh? wonder Is that the man did not falut. “My God!" he gurgled. “Do you know what you are saying? Where are they, boy? You will be robbed, murdered for their sake. Where are they? Let me put them In some safe place. I will deal honestly by you. I swear it by all that I hold sacred. But you must have them taken care of.” “They are quite saije, be certain of that Reveal my secret I will not. I have borne Insult and Imprisonment to presene it so It is not likely I will yield now to your appeals.” Philip’s face lit up with a strange ligit as this protest left his lips. The meteor was his mother’s bequest. P ,,n gave it to him, and she Mould safe guard It Had the failed hitherto? Waa not all London ringing with the news of his fortune, yet what man or woman had discovered the whereabouts of his treasure? In his pocket be felt the great iron key of No. 3 Johnson’s Mews, and he was as certain now that bis hiding place was unknown as that his mother’s spirit was looking down on him from heaven and directing his every movement v The man, in spite of his own great lack of Composure, saw the fleeting glimpse of spirituality lu the boy’s eyes. Puzzled and disturbed though be was, he made anoEEier vToTenT effort fo~puH his shattered nerves Into order.

“There Is no need to talk all day,” he said doggedly. “Now lam going to tell you something you don’t know. If your boast Is justified—lf you really own as many diamonds and as good ones as you say you own—there must be a great deal of discretion exercised In putting them on the market. Dlumouds are valuable only because they are rare. There is a limit to their possible purchasers. If the diamond mines of the world were to pour all their resources forthwith Into the lap of the public there would be such a slump that prices would drop 50, CO, even 80 per cent. Do you follow me?” “Yes.” nodded rhilip. A week earlier he would have said, “Yes, sir,” but his soul was bitter yet against Isaacsteln. “Very well. It may take me months, years, to realize your collection. To do It properly I must have some idea of its magnitude. If there are exceptionally large Btones among It, they will be dealt with separately. They may rival or eclipse the few historical diamonds of the world, but their worth can only be measured by the readiness of some fool to pay hundreds of thousands for them. See?” . “Yes," nodded Philip again. His sententiousness brought the man to the point. “Therefore you must take me into your conlldence. What quantity of stones do you possess and what are their sizes? I must know.” Isaacsteln, cooler now, pursed his lips and pressed his thumbs together until they appeared to be in danger of dislocation. It was his favorite attitude when engaged in a deal. It signified that he.had cornered his victim. Philip, appeuled to in this strictly commercial way, could not fail to see it was to his own Interest to tell his chosen expert the exact facts and nothing but the facts. The boy, singularly unflurried In tone and manner, hazarded an inquiry. “What amount of ordinary diamonds —ln their money value, I mean—can you dispose of readily In the course of a year, Mr. Isaacsteln?” “Oh, £200,000 or £300,000 worth. It is a matter largely dependent on the condition of trade generally. But that may be regarded as a minimum,” “And the bigger stones, worth many thousands each?” “It is imi>oßßible to say. Taking them in the lump at values varying from a thousand each to fancy figures, perhaps £50.000 worth." “It would be safe to reckon on a quarter of a million a year, all told?” “Quite safe." “Then, Mr. Isaacsteln, I will supply yon with diamonds of that value every The man relaxed the pressure on his thumbs. Indeed, he passed a tremulous hand across his forehead. He was beaten again, and he knew it—worsted by a gutter snli>e in a war of wits. The contest had one excellent effect It stopped all further efforts on Isaacitein's part to wrest Philip’s secret from him. Thenceforth he asked for and obtained such diamonds as he needed nnd resolutely forbade himself the luxury of questioning or probing the extent of his juvenile patron’s resources.

But there was a long pause before he found his tongue again. His voice had lost its aggressiveness when he said: "In the police court I valued the diamonds you produced at £50.000. It does not necessarily follow thaj I am prepared to give such a sum for them at this moment. I might do so as a speculation, but I take it you do not want me to figure in that capacity. It will be better for you, safer for me. if I become your agent. I will take your stones to Amsterdam, have them cut sufficiently to enable dealers to assess their true worth and sell them to the best advantage. My charge will be 10 per cent and I pay all expenses. Today I will give you £SO. Tomorrow I will take you to a bank and place five thousand to your credit. Meanwhile I will give you a receipt for thirty stones, weighing in the rough so many carats, and you or any one you may appoint can see the sale vouchers subsequently, when 1 will hand you the balance after deducting £5,050 and my 10 per cent. The total price may exceed fifty thousand or it may be less, but I do not think I will be far out in my estimate. Are you agreeable?” Some inner monitor told Philip that the man was talking on sound business lines. There was a ring of sincerity lu bis voice. Apparently he had thrust temptation aside and was firmly resolved to be content with his 10 per cent. And this might well be. Twenty-five thousand pounds a year earned by a few journeys to the continent —a few haggling interviews In the Hatton Garden office! What a gold mine! Moreover, he would be the head man in the trade. He was that now, In some respects, but under the new conditions none coaid gainsay his place at the top. Even the magnates of Kimberley woulj be staggered by this new source of supply. What did It matter If the boy kept to hls rags and amazed the world so long as the diamonds were forthcoming? It was no silk hatted gentletnan who first stumbled across the diamond laden earth of South Africa, isaacsteln had made np hls mind. Fate

had thrust this business into his lap. He would be a fool to lose it out of mere curiosity. “Yes,” said Philip. “I agree to that” “Samuel!” yelled Isaacsteln. “Coming, sir,” was t the answering shout, and a flurried clerk appeared. “Bring in the scales, Samuel.” The scales were brought and a level space cleared for them on the desk. Philip, of course, had never before seen an instrument so delicately adjusted. A breath would serve to depress the balance. The boy held forth his paper and poured the contents into the tiny brass tray of the scales. Samuel’s mouth opened and his eyes widened. It was Ids first sight of the diamonds. “Four ounces eight pennyweights five grains—(l29 carats in thirty stones. Oh, good gracious me!” murmured the cis’-k. i .!:((.-'.‘.ciii checked the record carefully. •oi ’it"’ he said. “Put them in the .-are.” t ! : !!!|> raised no protest this time. Lie knew that the man would keep his word. Indeed, Isaacsteln told Samnel to bring him fifty sovereigns, and ere the man returned he began to write on a sheet of letter paper: “Received from— Here! What’s your name?” he broke in. “I’hilip.” “Philip what?” “That w ill do today, thank you. The next time I call I will give you my full name and address.” “Please yourself. I am no Judge In this matter,” and he wrote on: Received from Philip, a boy who refuses any other name, but the same whom I saw in this office on the 20th Inst, and again at the Clerkenwell police court on that date, thirty meteoric diamonds weighing in the gross G2tf carats. X hereby agree to dispose of the same and to render true account of the sales to said Philip or his agents, my commission to be 10 per cent, the expenses payable by me. I have today handed the said Philip £SO In gold and undertake to place £5,000 to his credit tomorrow with my bankers. ' REUBEN ISAACSTEXN. After completing this acknowledgment he scribbled something else. - “There,” lie said, with a sigh of relief, "that is not a very formal document, but it will suffice. You can get it stamped tomorrow at Somerset House. Just sign this receipt for £sf\” rhilip took the two papers and read them carefully. Isaacstein’s handwriting was a scrawl, but legible enough. The boy readied for a pen and signed his Christian name. He was on the point of adding his surname in an unguarded moment, hut he felt the man’s eye on him, so he simply wrote “Philip” across the stamp at the foot of the receipt. Isaacsteln fully appreciated the Incident and knew r that his own eagerness defeated the chance, all the more powerful because it was involuntary, of ascertaining the name of this marvelous youth. Philip gathered up his gold, not without counting the coins. They felt strangely heavy in his pocket—much heavier than the stones they replaced, yet they formed but a thousandth part of the value of those flintlike pebbles. What a queer problem it was, this ratio of worth between a few stones and the bright minted sovereigns! “What time shall I call tomorrow’?” he asked, standing enp in hand, ready to take his departure. .... “At 11. But wait one moment Have you no friends to look after you? See what trouble you may get into. Why, the mere possession of so much gold by a boy like you may”— “I can take care of myself, Mr. Isaacstein. I will be here at 11. Good afternoon.” [TO BX CONTINUED!

"You don't drink, I suppose? ”