THE BLUE DIAMOND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20263, 24 May 1929, Page 5

THE BLUE DIAMOND.

A SHOKT STORY.

BY FRANCIS GRIBBLE,

" A good-for-nothing —a hopeless good-for-nothing !" So his relatives described Algernon Charters, and not without good reason. He had been sent down from Oxford, and dismissed from a berth that had been found for him in the city, and instead of looking out for another berth, he loafed and drank.

" Better get him out of the country. If ho reforms, well and good, and if he goes to the dogs he can go to them unobtrusively," was the verdict of the family after sitting in conclave upon his case; and his father sent for him and delivered sentence.

" You can go where you like," he said, " so long as you keep outside the British Isles. I'll allow you £lO a month as long as you stay abroad. Whether you ever see any more of my money depends upon whether you pul! yourself together." " Oh! I'll do that, father, never fear," said Algernon Charters. " I sincerely hope you will, my boy," said his father; and Algernon Charters departed. A small legacy from a distant bachelor cousin came to him about that, time, so that he had a little ready money in addition to his allowance. He began by squandering it in Paris and at Monte Carlo; but the fatuity of this proceeding dawned upon him before it was ail gone. He decided to take what remained of his windfall to some place where money was to be made as well as spent. " There's ranching," he reflected, " but that's too hard work. There fruit-farm, ing, but that's too hard work, too. There's gold mining, but that's all done by machinery nowadays. By George! I have it. I'll, try the diamond fields." Off he went, therefore, and found that it was as easy to bo a bar-loafer in Diamondopolis as in any other city in the world. It was, indeed, this habit of barloafing that shaped the course of his life. For there was a barmaid in Diamondopolis —a prety girl named Mollie Henderson—whom he admired. She liked him because he had more polished manners than most of the money grabbers of the place. Though his intentions -were not serious, it pleased him to take her for drives on Sundays. Their talk naturally turned upon money, and the various ways of making it. Mollie Henderson had-clear views upon the subject. " Look at them," she said, indicating various rich men, redolent of respectability. " How did they make their fortunes ? By digging diamonds ? Not a bit of it. They made their fortunes by buying diamonds cheap from Kaffirs." "What! Stolen diamonds?" "Hush! How were they to know that the diamonds were stolen ?" If a Kaffir offered you a diamond, how would you know it was stolen. He might have found it in the river, mightn't he? Anyone's allowed to look for diamonds there." It was the voice of the tempter, and the voice was heard again in the course of their drives. " One parcel you know—or one diamond if it were big enough—might make a man's fortune if he could get it safely to Hatton Garden. Of course, the difficulty is to get it there." " I know." He had not been six weeks in Diamondopolis without discovering that there were stringent laws against illicit diamond buying. Anyone found with . a rough dia mond in his possession must prove his title to it or go to; prison. Mollie Hen derson declaimed indignantly against those laws. " They can run you in, take you to prison, search you, on suspicion. It s a scandal and a shame. They've no right to make such laws, and no right to expect them to bo obeyed." "You think so?" asked Algernon Charters, doubtfully. "Do I think so? Why, of course, I think so. And I'll tell you what proves it. They haven't got such laws in any other country "in the world , and once you got over tho border the police won't send vou back as they 'would for stealing 01 anything of that sort." "Ave you sure of that?" asked Algernon Charters. " Quite sure," answered Mollie Henderson! and Algernon Charters ruminated. So there was no extradition for illicit diamond buying! Obviously that made a difference. An offence for which no country in the world would extradite offenders was hardly to be regarded as a crime. It ranked with the respectable political offences. One need not be ashamed of it. It would need but little to make him yield to the temptation. And Mollie lured him on, when, was inevitable, he brought the subject up again. " It's a tricky business," she warned him. " They're cleverer than you think. You'd never hide a diamond so that they wouldn't find it; and if you were leaving in a hurry they'd suspect and search you to a certainty. But a woman pciliaps " Thus she instilled the poison; it had to bo left to soak into his mind a little longer. But it soaked. "Look here, Mollie," he said at last; supposing I had a diamond, o 1- a parcel, and wanted it got, to London, and only a woman could get it there safely, and I asked you " , , . It. was her turn to liang hack and iiesitale, but from other motives than his. Would he trust her? Of course, lie would trust her. Would she trust, him ? " Yes, if it was a real big thing," she said. " Not otherwise. It wouldn t bo worth while." And thus his fate was sealed. In intention they were already partners in crime. For the rest it was only a matter of waiting for the chance, or rather of picking (he really big chance out of the manv chances that occmred. " I've got a klip, baas. I only want so much for it," said many Kaffir thieves, only io be sent away because the klip was not valuable enough for the great coup; but at last the right, klip—a glorious blue diamond—was offered, and snapped up cheap, and hidden. I only gave £2O for it, Mollie Tf I don't get £20.000 for it in Hatton Garden, it'll bo because I've been cheated," said Algernon Charters, who been making researches into tho values and prices of the different kinds of diamonds. Tliey made their plans. " We must go by different boats," said Mollie, " and I must get off first because they'll suspect you if you leave in a hurry." " Right you are, my dear. Where shall wo arrange to meet? " " I must leave that to you, as I don't know London." He (tamed a private hotel in tho Bond Street, neighbourhood, and she wrote the address in her pocket-book. " I shall only be a week behind you," he said gaily. " You're quite sure you trust me ? " " Quite." " That's right.' 1 So she booked her passage and went, arid ho booked his and followed her.

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They both got away, apparently unsuspected", and certainly unsearched. He had enough money in his pocket to enjoy his journey, but sense enough to hold his tongue about the fortune he had made at the diamond diggings. He drank freely, £ind under the joyous influence built, castles in the air. He would be generous to Mollie Henderson She should have £looo—£lso0 — £2OOO. The figure varied with the degree of his potations. Then they would part and go their separate ways. He would amaze his friends by blossoming out as a wealthy and respectable member of society He would enjoy himselif; he would find an occupation; they should kill the fatted calf for him; he would marry and settle down, becoming a country squire, an M.F.H., and all that sort cf thing. Such were his plans when he drove up to the private hotel where, Mollie Henderson awaited him. For prudence's sake he had established himself at another hotel in the neighbourhood; but he took her out to lunch, in a private room, on. the very day of his arrival, and proceeded to talk business* "Well, Mollie, how's the diamond?"' "Oh! the klip's all right, Algie." " Let'ii have a look at it." " I don't carry it about in my pock«t, my dear." "Of course not. You don't leave it lying about in your bedroom, I hope." * " No (ear, Algie." " Where is it, then ? " . f " Tn the Chancery Lane Safe Deposit."* " Then we'll pay the bill here, and drive round and get it." She smiled a smile that showed that she was aware of the strength of her position. " Not so fast, Algie." * " Wha.t do you mean, Mollie ? " She went on smiling. " You haven't told me what you're ,550ing to give me for it." "Be sensible, Mollie. I haven't anything to give you till I've sold it. But I won't cheat you. I'll you Hen per cent, on what I get for it." Sho shook her head. " Fifteen per cent." She shook her head again. He went on raising his offer and losing his temper as he did so. But he was helpless. He had to ask her to name her' price, and she named it. " A wedding ring, Algie." " Confound you, Mollie." • " Hush, Algie, hush! I mean it. I meant it all along. It wasn t the money I wanted, but you. I liked you and I wanted to be married and made a lady. This was the only way." And she pleaded with him. " Come, now, Algie. Why is it such a dreadful thing to marry me? You always said you were i'ond of me. .I'm not ugly, am I ? And if 1 m not a lady I'm just as fond of you as if I /as, and you'll teach me to behave like one. I'll try so hard to learn. Please, Algie, please " Unstable as water, he yielded—yielded with a good grace, too. Wny not? Perhaps his friends would be charitable enough not to judge a wife from Diamoudopoliss by Belgravian standards. If not, they might go to the devil. So he: ended by protesting that he had always meant to marry her, and that the earlier the wedding day was fixed the better. " I wonder," he said, " whether we can raise the money between us for a special licence ? " * - " We'll try," she answered radiantly, and they -proceeded to club their resources. They found that, when everything was paid for, they would only have a few pounds left over. But what did i;hat matter? There was the diamond. Solomon Shadrach, of Hatton Garden, was a good man to do business with. He would try to drive a hard bargain; but when the price was fixed he would pav cash. t To Hatton Garden, therefore, they drove, in a swift hansom, as soon as the registrar had made them man and wife. Mr. Solomon Shadrach had been warned to expect them, and they were, shown straight into his private office. " So you've got a blue diamond, have you. Let'th thee your blue diamond," said the. Hebrew dealer. Mrs. Algernon Charters, looking magnificent in the travelling dress in which she was expecting to start for Folkestone by the evening train, took the stone out of her purse, and put it on the table. Mr. Solomon Shadrach picked it up, turned it over, tapped it. His little ijyes twinkled. " How muth ? " he asked. " Twenty thousand pounds," said Algernon Charters. The Jew's eyes twinkled more than ever. " Twenty thousand poundth ith a lot of money," he said. " I'll take nineteen thousand," said Algernon Charters, and thon Mr. Solomon Shadrach finished his sentence. " I wath going to thay that twenty thousand poundth ith a lot of money for the glath stopper of a ginger beer bottle." " The devil! " "Quite tho! I dare thay it wath thorne devil of a black man that made a fool of you. It very often happenth. But it doth not very often happen that they make a fool of a diamond merchant in Hatton Garden. I wish you good day, thir, you and your good lady. If you have any other diamonth —" And the rest of the story could only relate the use of language which it would I be qui to improper to print here.