" DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7678, 11 April 1903, Page 2

" DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND."

__ Strati. African Incident.

(Pall -fall Qazttte.)

Sir Joseph Bergmeyer was seated on a low chair behind the counter gazing vacantly at a bit of string sticking out of the hinge of the book in his hand. Now, when Mr Joseph Bergmeyer acted thus, one might be certain of one of two things — either Mr Joseph was not well, or business had of late' been unusually slack. This time it was th,e latter, but the circumstances were peculiar. Here was a township of five thousand white and- twenty thousand black inhabitants, in a state of peace, only forty miles of good road (as African roads go) dividing it from the railway. But yet the firm of Joseph Bergmeyer and Co. could get no stock. This was particularly annoying just' now, as would-be buyers were eager and numerous., Worse still " the Co." — certain -tameless but wealthy Israelites of Johannesburg — were grumbling. This was why Mr Joseph was thinking. The store, a large, square room, was nearly empty; on three sides the stained wood walls' stood forlorn and bare_, the almost empty shelves displaying here and there some palpably unsaleable goods. Round three sides ran the large counter, on which lay a few bales of fantastically-dyed calico, a tin pan or two filled with glass beads, a few coils of thin brass wire 2 and other articles of "Kaffir truck." On the fourth side stood the door__ between two large plate-glass windows. Here again was displayed a varied assortment of articles, a brilliantly-coloured) cricket-blazer, a bundle of rusty rat-traps, an open wooden box half-filled with gritty-looking liquorice, and ether equally uninviting wares; and behind these, as if in open mockery, were hung many-coloured advertisements of articles of food that Mr Bergmeyer uiaed to supply, bub now could not obtain. An enterprising ny, tired of sitting on the colouredf paper above the lamp-shade, and haying failed to find room on the liquorice, bethought himself of investigating the storekeeper's brain v by way of his ear. This broke the spell, and, making a vain endeavour to entrap the intruder with the book, Mr Bergmeyer sprang to his feet and stretched himself. At the culminating point of his stretch he dropped the book. In stooping to pick up the book _te bumped his head, and so at lust, thoroughly aroused and in a very irritable state, of mind, he lurched gloomily to tho door. Here the scene that greeted him was not of an inspiriting nature (though why a scene that meets a man a hundred times a day shftuld take the trouble to greet him on each occasion is one of the mysteries of our tongue).

The store, was on one side of the square, which sloped gently towards it. Around ithis open space stood the principal buildings of the town of,Nydelberg. On the left-hand side stood the Dutch Reformed church, grey, grim and hideous. On the right was a bar© patch of ground, between two crooked gcal-posts', where, in deSamce of suffocation by dust, the troops of the garrison used to play football.' In front, on the further side, was a row of buildings, no two of .the same size or shape, their unblushing ugliness mercifully half hidden by a stately row of bluegumV But for the i clean, rushing streams that ran beside every street, the scene waa one of dust, dearth and desolation. Here and there a group of Kaffirs might be seen squatting under the shade of a tree. From one ef thsse groups came the wail of a cheap accordion, moan•ing_ out the same three chords in maddening iteration. Only one other white man was visible just then, and he, strange to eay, was walking towards the store.

He was dressed in a tunic of irreproachable kliarki, with shoulder-straps of brilliant green, and bis brass buttons sparkled like little mirrors. His riding-breeches were almost white, probably through frequent washing, while his boots and leather goiters shone like polished bronze. Ou his hardbrimmed Stentson Eat a black cock's-plume waved. Add spurs, gauntlets/and a cane, and you have the outward ana visible signs of a trooper of the South African Constabulary. . ■ ,

In another minute he had arrived at. the store, the doorway of which was still almost filled by. the body of Mr Bergmeyer. "Afternoon, Mr Bergmeyer. r Ot, ain't

it?"

" Ja. Vat you vont?"

" Well, I thought I'd just slip round to see whether you might happen to have any stuff in yet, as I 'eard there was a convoy left the lino the other day."

Mr Bergmeyer suddenly became interested, and shifted his gaze from the gum-tree to the speaker.

" How y' 'eard dot?"

"Well, you see, we signallers 'earstbings which other's don't, being, as I may say, confidential in respect of our position." There was silence for a moment, while Mr Joseph's somewhat watery eyes wandered back to the trees, and then suddenly returned to the

"Vat you mean — signallers?"

" Well, we does the 'eliding to the outstations, looks after the police telephone, night messages, and the like ; in fact, if it weren' b for us the Lootenant would be 'elpless, 'specially now that the post office wire, with Khamasdorp is broke down." "Who for is the stuff?" ' "What stuff?"

"The^vaggofis you said dot left the line the other day.''

"Don't knoW— that ain't otfr business; all we cares about is that these waggons is safe on the road and the- Kaffirs don't pinch off 'em. These 'ere niggers are in a queer state just now, and don't know that the day* of looting convoys is over — for a bit,"

And so it was that Mr Bergmeyer came by tbe information that cost him so dear in tbe end.

After the constable had gone on his way Mr Bergmeyer retired into this store once more to think. By this time his thoughts took a more definite, form. The idea that his only rivals in Nvdelburgi Messrs Gam--man and ©rasp, had supplies coming in was "the most unlrindest cut of all "—for, if not for them, who c6uld they be for? No ; it was a cejtainty. He would walk round to the riy#l store, and, wbjle pretending to know 1 nothing, find out more and make sure about the matter.

So, leaving the place in charge' of his Kaffir /assistant, Mr Bergmeyer strolled across the square. He found 1 Mr Gammon, th-i senior partner, writing at his desk in the rear of bis store.

"Afternoon, Mr Gammon; bow's things?" "Afternoon, Mr' Bergmeyer, nicely, thanks. How's yourself?"

" Oh, veil, things is slack— just *t : pre-

sent."

Mr' Gammon looked cautiously at Mr Bergmeyer. What did 1 he mean By " j_»t at present"? Mr Bergmeyer, looked- cautiously at Mr Gammon. Had the telegraph broken down before tbe waggons were despatched, and did G___non know they weton tbe road? Tb-se were the thoughts that rushed through tbe brains of the two men. Mr Bergmeyer felt almost sure now that his rival did not know of the supplies, that might arrive that ve*y^eve_ing. &© he pro•ceeded with lighter heart. - •

" Look h_r_> Mr Gammon, I vent to do » bit of vot yotf «all speeul-tion- ant you. I am _ man wb is used) to blenty of pizness, and thi» vaiting and T&iting for the stuffs is killing me."

Then he expounded' a scheme, with many e_pla»fttolry _ a M«>_at-esei l b£ which the two

firms were to insure themselves against being second in receiving supplies from the line. Now, Mr G-aawmon had reason to believe that he would not have any Supplies himself for a long time ; but he took great care to give Mr Bergmeyer the opposite opinion. So after muoh haranguing, and what the Americans call "bluff" on both sides, the following terms were agreed upon.

Whichever firm received a supply first was to sell half of it to the other, at cost price. This was to he repeated when the second convoy arrived — but, of course, prices would not run ntarly ,__ high then as they would at first. As soon as Jir Joseph Bergmeyer had left the store, Mr Gammon sat dowtk and smiled. He was conscious that the transaction was somewhat odd, but he was also conscious of being a Johannesburg-trained businsse man, and therefore knew that he must be very smart. On the other band, as Mr Bergmeyer walked back acroes the dusty square he smiled at his own innate busirtes. ca^

pacity. Had he looked to his left, at the peep of landscape visible through tbe trees, be would have seen a little cloud of dtiSt just where the road to Khamasdqrp crossed a little hill ; but be didn't:

That evening a travel-stained man,, mounted on a small grey pony, entered the town. He asked the way of a native to Mr Joseph BergiHeye-'s store, using the Kaffir language with great fluency. Oh receiving the desired information he gave the pony a Savage cut with the sjambok attached'- to hisi wrist, and ambled on. Then, dismounting at the door of that gentleman's business premises, be handed him a note.

" Good evening. You are Mr Bergmeyer, I believe?" ' , "Yes." . !

"Well, I've got seven heavily-loaded waggons consigned to you. The stuff was ordered up from Delagoa by your Jo'burg agents. I got an order at Middclburg to meet it at Khamasdorp. Nuisance, ain't it, these wires breaking down just when there ain't anyone handy to mend them? Couldn't advise you abejad. Ah-hem, roads very heavy with dust — think the pony's dry."

And to this day the "conductor" has never understood why* old Bergmeyer cut up so rough and never even offered bim a drink.