Lincoln County leader., April 25, 1913, Image 3

TGromcles of-
Gprrfyii 6yU&. OittfiHAH
MR TAUBERY'S
DIAMOND
"HI, young fellow! Does Inspector
Pwm llva here?"
He spoke roughly enough, and I re
turned his stare with equal IrritaUon.
When a man may not Indulge in day
dreams on his own doorstep the state
ef society wants mending. He was a
big bully of a (ellow, with a red face,
a curled, white mustache, and a single
eye-glass, through which be regarded
me with an air of extreme Ill-temper.
"The Inspector lodges on the third
floor," I told him coldly.
"Do you. live here too?"
I had a mind not to answer him, but,
after all, It was not worth while mak
ing trouble over an Impudent ques
tion. .
"Yes," I said; "I rent the grouno
floor and the studio behind. My name
Is Phillips. I am an artist. For the
past four years I have studied abroad.
If you would like to see my birth cer
tificate I will go and fetch It for you."
To my surprise, he burst Into a
shout of laughter, swaying his body
from side to side. It was quite a time
before he recovered himself.
"Good, lad good, lad," he chuckled;
"Qad! but I deserved It. Allow me to
Introduce myself. My name is Gun
ton, sir Colonel Theophilus Qunton
and I'm very pleased to meet you."
He held out his hand, which I shook,
without any great degree of enthusi
asm. 'Is this Addlngton Peace at home,
do you think?" he continued.
"I don't know," I told him. "I should
walk upstairs and find out if I were
you."
"There I recognize the practical
head. Tou know him?"
"Yes."
"Then, we will go together. You
ean Introduce me."
I was offended at th.e noise and
bluster of the man; but he had
grabbed my arm, and I didn't want a
scene at my own door. I led him up
the stairs, bis voice growing silent as
his lung capacity weakened. The in
spector's voice cried an Invitation to
my knock, and I entered, with the col
onel puffing at my heels like a loco
motive on a stiff Incline.
"Sorry to disturb you, Peace," I
said; "but this Is a gentleman by the
name of Gunton, and he appears anx
ious to make your acquaintance."
The little man rose from his easy
chair, and stood looking at the stran
ger with an expression of great good
humor. For myself, I was about to withdraw
when the colonel's hand dropped heav
ily upon my shoulder.
"Don't you go," be said. "A cosmo
politan, a detective and a man of the
world, as I am, form a unique combi
nation. And, by Gad! gentlemen, we
shall want all our brains over this af
fair." I glanced at Peace, who smiled and
nodded. So I stayed.
The colonel kindly consented to
take the most comfortable chair,
sighed, stretched out his legs, lit a
cheroot and then, without further In
troduction, plunged Into his story.
"Perhaps you have heard of Julius
TauberyT No? Well, It's a name as
. well known throughout India as the
viceroy's. He Is the head of one of
the richest firms In' Calcutta. -. Went
out there as a young man, worked
well, married well, and ended well In
all things, save his constitution, with
which he played the very devil. In
1900 be returned and took a fine Lon
don house In Portland place, together
with an old hall down In Devonshire,
A month ago the doctors ordered him
out of England for life. Rough on him,
wasn't It, seeing that he had spent
two-thirds of his time out of It al
ready? But the south of France Is his
only chance, they tell him; so, like a
wise man, he Is selling off his sticks,
and settling down at Mentone, with
out squealing to show how much it
- hurts him.
"Julius and his wife she's one or
the kindest-hearted women have
been giving some farewell parties to
their old friends. They had a lunch
today, one-thirty sharp, and a lot of
people turned up. After the ladles
had left us, the talk, as luck would
have It, fell on precious stones; and
Julius Taubery Is a crank on them if
there ever was one. His wife wears
the finest Jewels In London, and the
old man Is supposed to have many
thousand pounds' worth more locked
away, which he won't trust even her
with the handling.
"Gentlemen,' says he, 1 will show
jo om,ll" that mar Interest you.
It Is. a new purchase of mine, and It
happens to be a remarkable stone 1'
"He pulled a green case from an In
side pocket, flipped it open, and there
the thing was as big as a walnut The
lights were on. It being dull weather,
and the stone blinked and sparkled
like the sun on dancing water.
" 'My word, Julius,' I said. 'But
that's a risky bit of stuff to carry
about with you.'
'"It's going to the bank -this after
noon,' he answered. 'So If you want
to examine the pretty pebble, gentle
men, this Is your last chance."
"And with that he took It from; Its
case, as proud as a young husband
of his first baby, and sent It round the
table.
"I was sitting on Julius' left Be
tween us was a fat old boy, who was a
stranger to me. He took a long stare
at the stone, whistling softly between
his teeth, before he passed It on. It
went from hand to hand, never out of
sight, so far as I could notice, until it
came to Sir Andrew Carillon, who fan
cies himself an expert on gems. They
say that when Lady Carillon Is In the
stalls, the play Is -finished to the wo
men sitting behind her, for they can't
keep their .eyes off her pearls. Sir
Andrew pulled out a magnifying glass,
and began examining the diamond.
"'I congratulate you, Taubery he
said, after about a minute. 'You have
acquired a historical stone!'
"Old Julius leant back, with a smile
half-way round his head, but he didn't
say a word.
" This stone,' said Sir' Andrew, In
the heavy, pompous way that he has,
tapping It with his magnifying glass
to attract attention, 'this stone is the
celebrated Hyderapore diamond, to
which first historical reference is
made in the year 1584. It was cap
tured by the Rajah of Hyderapore
from a ruling chief In the Deccan after
a battle,. In which four thousand men
lost their lives. In 1680 it was stolen
from the rajah's palace by a Spaniard,
who escaped to Bombay, where he was
robbed and murdered. The stone dis
appeared for about sixty years.
"'It subsequently came Into the
possession of one of the East India
company's agents, who was stabbed to
death In his bungalow near Calcutta
about 1760. The diamond, which Is
held to have Inspired the attack, was
saved from the robbers by the appear
ance of his guests and servants. The
widow brought it to Europe and sold
it to the Due d'Alembert, who lost his
diamond and Incidentally his life In
the French revolution. It turned up
again at the court of Napoleon III.,
being then In the possession of Henri
Marvin, the well-known financier. Un
til today I thought It was still in his
family.
" 'It Is one of the very few large dia
monds that Is absolutely without a
flaw, and its value In the open market
today would be approaching thirty
thousand pounds. Any one who takes
an Interest in historical stones might
be tempted to give even a higher
price; for there has been enough blood
spilt over It gentlemen, to fill the
bath of Its fortunate possessor.'
"He laid down the diamond on the
table and looked at his host with a
malicious grin. But all connoisseurs
are alike; they are as covetous of
each other's pet treasures as so many
cats.
"All the time that Sir Andrew had
been speaking, the fat fellow next to
me had been snorting and swelling
until, 'pon my soul, I thought he was
In for a stroke of apoplexy. I am the
beat-tempered of men, but I have my
limits, 'and the old grampus was one
of them.
" 'Are you In pain, sir?' I asked him.
" 'Yes, I am, sir,' he said, in such a
high, squeaky voice that all the table
could hear him. 'I object to listening
to the definitions of so-called experts,
who cannot tell a diamond from a
glass marble. Experts? Humbugs,
that's what I call them!'
" 'Do you refer to me, Professor En
dlcott?" began Sir Andrew, leaning
forward, with a very red face.
'"Most certainly I do.'
"'Then I must ask you for an ex
planation or an Immediate apology.'
." 'A man who can make so ludicrous
an error deserves neither the one nor
the other,' cried the professor, In great
excitement That stone has been in
the possession of the Princes of Pava
loff for three hundred years. Prince
Peter, the present head of the family,
kindly allowed me to examine It when
I was in Moscow in 1894. I was not
aware that he had sold it I trust
Mr. Taubery, that you obtained It from
a respectable source; It not I should
be no true friend did I hide from you
my belief that It had been stolen.'
"It a man had said such a deucedly
Insulting thing to me I should have
knocked him down there and than. I
would, 'pon my soul, without thinking
more about It But Julius lay back In
his chair, smiling all over his face. 1
suppose those collectors get accus
tomed to each other's little ways;
they're a queer lot anyway.
" 'You can be quite easy on that
point Professor Endlcott' he said.
'Prince Peter was, unfortunately, In
volved In the late Dolorouskl conspir
acy, but had time to slip across the
Russian frontier before the police
could arrest him. I bought the dia
mond from his agent In Paris.'
M'You Interest me deeply, Mr. Tau
bery.' struck In Sir Andrew, speaking
very softly, though we could all see he
was In a devil of a rage. 'Even I was
not unaware of the existence of the
Pavaloff diamond. If my memory does
not fall me, it is slightly disfigured by
a flaw on the eighth facet r '
"'Certainly, Sir Andrew,' said our
host; 'If you examine the stone you
will see that such Is the case.'
"There Is no such blemish on the
diamond I have before me. Therefore
I humbly suggest that you have been
deceived by this Parisian agent as to
Its origin.'
"Professor Endlcott climbed to his
feet with a grunt of dissatisfaction,
and leant over the table, thrusting out
his podgy fist to receive the Jewel. He
remained standing, with his body
swayed forward, so that the electric
lights above the silver center piece
might shine the brighter upon what he
held. Presently he dropped his hands
to his sides and stood staring about
him like a plowman lost In Piccadilly.
"This Is not the stone I examined
five minutes ago,' he stuttered.
" 'Nonsense,' said old Julius, with a
shadow of fear In his eyes. 'Nonsense,
Endlcott; look again.'
" 'Can It be that two such famous
experts have made a mistake?' sneered
Sir Andrew. 'Can it be that a humble
amateur like myself is right and that
they are wrong? As I told you, gen
tlemen, the Hyderapore diamond '
"'Hyderapore diamond be d d!'
squealed the fat man. This thing Is a
fake, a clumsy Imitation. Taubery,
(you have been robbed!'
"We were all on our feet In an in
stant amid a clamor of tongues. But
there was one man amongst us that
kept his head; one man who realized
that his honor was In peril; that Im
mediate action was necessary. His
name if I am not too egotistical is
Theophilus Gunton.
"Fortunately I have a voice of some
power,-and a manner that, when my
feelings are strongly moved, is per
haps not unimpressive. I commanded
GREAT IS THE BUCKWHEAT1
Only Pumpkin Pie May Be Likened to
the Tasteful Cereal Cakes,
8ays Rhapsodist
This modest flowering plant makes
but a poor showing In our annual
crop . returns some 10,000,000 bush
els, perhaps. As a grain It figures
Insignificantly, outside of New York
and Pennsylvania. But It Is to be
noted that the honey bee Is aware of
Its. peculiar virtue, preferring alone
the .white clover . to the buckwheat
blossoms. Farmers who. keep bee
hives know this and plant patches of
the grain.
Wise as the bee Is the man who
awaits the honey from the hive, the
flour from the buckwheat'; then fol
lows the griddle cake.
Its time Is at hand.. It goes with
sausage, or Philadelphia scrapple.
There are such distinct American
products that one reads with keen
sympathy In the latest life of the ex
patriated genius, Whistler, how he
was so devoted to buckwheat cakes
that "he insisted almost at the price
of- friendship that others share his
enthusiasm." How could others be
expected to do so born outside the
buckwheat belt? Wretched, homesick
artist
Other countries are blessed with
special foods, from the caviare of
Russia to the macaroni of Italy, but
they are beyond the pale, pitiably
Ignorant of what they miss and of
what we are about to enjoy. In Amer
ica there Is nothing sectional about
the buckwheat cake; It sprlngeth un
as a lowly flower, and, In the common
taste for It, Is to be likened only to
the unpretentious pumpkin pie. Phila
delphia Press.
Stitch In Time.
A Los Angeles brain specialist says
that all Americans will be baldheaded
within 300 years because of their
Intense brain activity. Editor Ake of
the Iron County Register, at Ironton,
saw the Hem, and with more or less
caution tells his subscribers: "I will
begin at once to .curb the too. too
lively tenor of the gray matter which
fills my cranium. Forewarned Is fore
fended, you know." St Louis Republic.
and obtained silence. I begged them
to resume their seats; they obeyed.
" 'Julius Taubery,' I said, 'has your
diamond disappeared?'
"He answered that It had, looking at
the Imitation stone, which they had re
turned to him. In a silly, scared way.
" 'Julius Taubery,' I continued, "we,
your guests. He under a stigma, an Im
putation. We cannot leave the house
under such circumstances. Some one
must have brought the Imitation stone
with him for a purpose that it is need
less to define. , The real. Jewel must
be In his pocket at this moment Let
us, therefore, be searched.'
"They all sat silent as mice under
my eye, save the professor, who grunt
ed ai If In dissent
"'Do I understand that you object
to my plan, slrr I asked him. 'Do
you refuse to be searched? And If so,
may I ask why?'
"He gave me an angry look, but he
had not the courage to contest the
point . ..
"Then, I may take It that we are
all agreed. Taubery, you have a li
brary upon this floor. As I passed the
door before lunch I noticed that there
was an excellent fire there. Professor
Endlcott and myself will retire to that
room. I will search the professor; the
professor shall search me. After that
the rest of the guests will come, one
by one, Into the room, where we will
search them In turn. . Let us have no
delay. Professor Endlcott, I am very
much at your service.'
"I went through that party, gentle
men, as ' our Transatlantic coubIds
would express It, with a flne-tooth
comb. And I feel it my duty to say
that not one of them raised the small
est objection to the severity of my
methods. They were like lambs, gen
tlemen, they were, by thunder! But
I obtained no result The Taubery dia
mond had disappeared.
"Poor old Julius was quite broken
down about It He placed the whole
matter In my hands. On my way to
Scotland Yard I remembered what an
old friend of mine had told me about
you. 'If you are ever in a hole, Gun
ton,' be said, 'get Addlngton Peace
he is the man.' You were off duty. I
Inquired your address; I am here. And
now, what are you going to do?"
"Can you remember who It was
that Introduced the subject of precious
stones at your luncheon party?" asked
Inspector Peace.
"Ton my life I don't know," said
the colonel, polishing his eye-glass
with a red silk pocket handkerchief.
"It was one of the fellows at the other
end of the table, but I can't say which
of them."
(CHRONICLES TO BR CONTINUED.)
WATER PORTERS OF QUITO
They Carry Big Earthen Jars on Their
Backs and Bowing, Create
a Cataract
Around a fountain In one of the
principal squares of Quito assemble
every morning the city's aguadores.
These water porters differ from the
less energetlo ones of some South
American cities in carrying their Jars
upon their backs Instead of on the
backs of mules. Their earthen Jars
are deep, have a wide mouth, and
hold about 40 liters.
The porter carries It on his shoul
der fastened with leather Straps. He
never detaches himself from his Jar
either to fill It or to transfer Its con
tents to that of his customer.
He turns his back to the fountain
so that the Jar comes under one of
the jets of water, listens to the sound
of the water In the Jar, and his ear
Is so well trained that he always
walks away at the exact moment
when It Is filled to the brim.
Arriving at the house of a cus
tomer, he goes to the household Jar,
makes a deep bow, and disappears be
hind a torrent of water. Foreigners
can never receive, without laughing,
the visit of their aguador, the respect
ful little man who bows to one be
hind a cataract of water.
Maglo of the Rainbow. ,
The rainbow shimmering high In
the heavens Is more than a mere arch
of glowing colors. It Is a royal am
bassador from the kingdom of nature,
a herald bearing a message of vast
Importance to mankind. Written up
on Its brllllantly-hued, shining arch
way Is a truth that man has finally
appreciated after the countless ages
that have passed since the first rain
bow glorified the heavens. And this
truth Is what? Nothing less than the
revelation of the component elements
that constitute the sun and stars and
the dlm-shlnlng nebulae lost in the
farthermost hiding places of the unV
verse. By means of this truth, writ
ten large upon the raindrops, we
know more about the composition ol
the sun, 93,000,000 miles from the
earth, than we do about the world oa
which we dwell. Popular Mechanics
Masarine.
WHEN THE MIND FAILS
MAN WHO 8UFFERED CALL8 AT
TENTION TO WRONG METHODS.
Prevailing Attitude Toward Insanity
Ridiculous, If Not Disgusting, He
Declares Mental Disorder
Should Be Looked To.
"In every line of mental research
It Is admitted that prevention la more
Important than cure with the excep
tion of mental diseases," says CUSord
Whlttlngham Beers, who created a
sensation a few years ago when, un
der the title A Mind That Found It
self, he published a record of his yean
of Insanity and of his awakening from
mental death. "Our scientific atti
tude toward diseases of the mind Is
truly amazing. We consider them as
something unavoidable. We watch
stupidly the disease running 1U
course from a slight disturbance of
mental processes until the first vio
lent manifestations of Insanity.
"If a man presents the slightest
symptoms of . pneumonia or even
measles he receives immediate treat
ment of some kind. On the other
hand, a patient who is suffering from
disease of the mind, the most threat
ening calamity of life, must be so far
advanced in the disease and so dis
ordered in action or In speech as to
satisfy a lay tribunal of the necessity
of justification of the forcible depriva
tion of his liberty, must be told that
he Is 'Insane,' muBt be 'adjudged In
sane' and 'committed' by a court to an
institution for the insane before he
can receive the treatment best adapt
ed to the restoration of his health.
"The public should be convinced
that Insanity Is a disease like any
other disease; people must be taught
to seek Intelligent advice promptly
whenever something 'seems to be the
matter with their nerves,' instead of
concealing their fears for mere shame.
"Had I, for instance, at the age of
eighteen, when I began to worry my
self Into a state of depression, had
accesB to advice and information, and
had I, as a result of an established
and widespread Interest In mental
hygiene, sought such advice as a mat
ter of course, eb persons threatened
with tuberculosis now seek the help
and advice they need, I am confident
that I should not have suffered the
affliction of mental disorder. Though
I took medicine for 'nerves,' I did not
find the remedy I needed, which was
a verbal corrective for , thought and
fears which were to prove my tem
porary undoing. '
"It may take some time before a
sick man Is no more ashamed of call
ing on a physician for Incipient Insan
ity than for a cold In his head, but
let us hope that time will arrive even
tually. A campaign of education Is
sorely needed to dispel the supersti
tions still prevalent in the public
mind as to the cause of insanity." '
Apple Tree Holds Record.
An apple tree growing In the Walla
Walla Valley, Washington, holds the
frult-yleld record. It produced nearly
200 bushels of apples last season, thus
breaking Its own record of 126 boxes
in 1907, the highest production, we
are assured, from a single tree known
anywhere In the world. This tree bore
70 boxes in 1906, 42 boxes In 1906 and
45 boxes In 1909. More than 600 bar
rels of fruit have been picked from
It since it came Into bearing In the
spring of 1871.
The tree was grown without Irri
gation from a seedling planted In 1866.
It Is forty-two feet in height and Its
branches spread fifty-seven feet from
tip to tip. The trunk Is seven feet In
circumference at the base and meas
ures six feet six Inches Just below the
first limb, which Is four feet from the
ground and measures four feet seven
Inches. The tree is sound and healthy
despite the fact that It has produced
fruit every season for nearly forty
years. New York Press.
Why He Was Popular.
The man with a natural aptitude
for mechanics received so many Invi
tations to take automobile trips with
friends who acted as their own chauf
feur that he came to be envied by his
less popular acquaintances. One day
the popular guest condescended to en
lighten them on his true status.
"You fellows needn't get green-
eyed," he said. "I haven't got such a
snap as you think I have. What they
want me to go along for Is to blow up
the tires and make repairs In case of
accident" I wouldn't be such a hot
favorite If I wasn't so proficient In
that line. The knowledge that I
wouldn't is somewhat galling, but as
I enjoy the trips I swallow my pride
and accept the invitations."
Fortunate.
Kitty Isn't it a most
fortunate
t
thing?
Ethel What?
Kitty That people can't read the
kisses that have been printed upon a
girl's Hps. St Louis Post-Dispatch.
The only wav tn keep a man la to-
let him go