Underworld
In Politics
BStrong-Arm Boys- and
Their Part in the
Great Game.
By Ernest McGaffey
Men Who Want "One Put
Over' the Rate Resort to
Criminal Methods.
AS the motto of the game is,
generally, "win at all haz
ards," It follows that poli
tics Is in some wards, and in
some exigencies, a desperate
game. This applies both to the upper
and lower stratas of the men engaged
in It If the, men "higher up" wanted
something "put over the plate" that
required physical force, they could
always find men lower down in ahe
scale who were guaranteed to stop at
nothing. These riff-raff of the under
current relied on political influence
to bring them clear of any crime they
might commit, and it often did gain
them immunity. The code of morality
seemed to be that the other fellows
would do the same thing if they had
the power and needed "the trick," so
that not even deliberate murder was
omitted on rare occasions to accom
plish a political end.
If anyone thinks I am drawing on
my imagination for this statement, he
is respectfully referred to the books
of the various cemeteries and the
record of the murder trials in the
criminal courts of the city.
In the practice of my profession as
a lawyer, I had run across some mem
bers of what were known as "the
strong-arm boys" of a certain section
of the city. They had figured as wit
nesses in some criminal cases in
which my firm was engaged, and I
had an opportunity to study them.
They were young fellows as a rule,
and exceedingly well dressed. Some
of them were very handy with their
fists, and some were regulation "gun
fighters." All of them were "crocks"
in various lines, from "card-sharps"
and "confidence" men to "shell-game
workers" and pickpockets.
When I broke through "the crust"
of politics these "strong-arm boys"
were very active In local politics, al
though they were far distant from my
political bailiwick, and mostly did not
belong to our party. Sometimes they
held petty political jobs for a year or
six months, and sometimes they hung
around the saloons and polling places,
the henchmen of some local politician.
Another time a local politician of
considerable prominence was stabbed
in a wrangle over the alleged stuffing
of a ballot box and instantly killed.
Certain of the witnesses testified that
Politician cf Considerable Prominence
Was Stabbed.
some ono cried "get him" just before
the fatal thrust An open knife, ready
there to "sharpen a lead pencil," was
the cause of his death. His slayer,
after a bitterly contested legal battle
carried to the supreme court of the
stats, was sentenced to serve a peni
tentiary term. Another time one
crowd broke into the doors of a closed
meeting, with a revolver volley from
both sides as the doors crashed in.
Two men dead and several wounded
was the result of this fracas. No one
was ever tried for any crime in con
nection with this.
Of course these desperate affrays
were not frequent, nor did they usual
ly happen except in the tough wards;
but they sometimes did occur in gooJ
wards, where the people were above
the average in intelligence and orderliness-.
Anywhere, in the fierce ani
mosities engendered by the excite
ments of an election, of a primary, or a
city convention, there was a very
strcng probability that somewhere
within the city's limits there would
be a death to lay at tie door of party
politics. Whisky, of course, often was-
a contributory agent of no little im
portance. One time a vrculd-be voter
lined up to get into a rolling booth, a
pistol in his side coat pocket, and
something like eleven drinks In his
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fs"t0l""'"iim'itummm
Art in Spanish
To baffle the counterfeiters, who are
both numerous and cunning in Madrid,
the Bank of Spain has pursued the
policy of changing its notes with great
frequency and retiring each issue as
fast as possible.
The bank has now determined on a
new plan. It has placed an order for
a series of notes with an' English con
cern, and it will rely for safety upon
j special, color .process. in addition
iiiiiiiiPi
if 1 m
immediate possession. A maaof the
opposite party approached from inside
the ,booth with the salutation: "HeL'o,
Jack." "Hello, Andy." was the re
sponse, and Instantly following his
reply he drew hisweapon and killed
the man In his tracks who had just
emerged from -the booth. A jury ac
quitted him after it had been shown
that the dead man was a "terror," who
had shot three times at' his slayer on
one occasion, and had shot another
man through the head who was then
in an insane asylum from the effects
cf the bullets. The slayer afterwards
said he had "keyed up" to "get" his
man at that election, if he wasn't got
ten fhsL
As for ordinary ascaults and slug
Sings, they were a matter of constant
occurrence. Even the most respec
table of men who really engaged in
active politics had to make up their
minds to a fist fight, if necessary,
rather than to "back water." When I
was in politics the "scrapping" was
mostly confined to the rougher ele
ments; but you had to either be ready
to fight, or convey the impression that
you would fight, or you would lose
caste. A man might get along all right
without any personal encounters, but
he had to make up his mind not to
"lie down" if trouble presented itself.
The Australian ballot and the rigid
house-to-house canvass in the wards
did away with a good deal of the
abuses of illegal registration, and
about "knocked in the head" the "an
cient and honorable" practice of "re
peating." Sometimes these old-time
schemes were tried, and the experi
menters sent to the penitentiary for
their pains. Ballot-box stuffing at the
regular elections was much of a "lost
art" also, and stealing ballot boxes a
desperate, dangerous and generally
futile means of gaining an end. Each
party had its judges, watchers and
challengers, and the closest possible
"tab" was kept on every detail of the
vote. When a man arrived at the
polls and handed in his folded ballot
he found that the men in charge some
times knew more than he did about
himself.
"What's your name?" asked one of
the judges to a man who was deposit
ing his ballot in the clerk's hand pre
paratory to having it slipped Into the
slit. "George H. Wilson." "Where do
you reside?" "One hundred and forty
two James street." "How long have
3rou lived there?" "Seven months, a
little over." "How long in the state?"
"All my life." "Why, you live with
the Smalleys, don't you?" "Certainly,"
was the answer. Several men spoke
up from both sides. "He lives with
Smalley, all right." "Well, Smalley
lives at 140 James street. I know you're
all right, but how'd you happen to get
the number wrong?" The man hesi
tated and then said: "Well, I'm sin
gle, and I get home at night so late
that I can't see the number, and when
I get out in the morning I never have
happened to look for it. But I live
with Smalley, all right." "Sure," was
the universal chorus, and in went his
vote.
On some occasions candidates have
been "drugged" or "doped," so that
they could not come out and make
speeches, and in some ward elections
certain candidates have been extreme
ly careful what they ate and drank
during their campaigns. Not that they
feared being fatally poisoned, but they
did apprehend a p'ossible "doping," as
such things had been done in the past.
Put an orator's stomach "out of busi
ness" for a week or ten days and it
may make the difference of a life time
to him.
Springing some sensational charge
in the opposition papers the day be
fore election is a favorite method or
trying to "cut under" a candidate's
support. Sometimes these things
prove a "boomerang," or a "roor-back,"
as it is sometimes called, and defeat
their own aim by shifting support
which had been with the party making
the charge to the party against whom
the charge was made. Sometimes
they accomplished their purpose, but I
recall one particular instance where
a candidate had an influential paper
"on his staff" up to the time he
"sprung a roor-back" against his op
ponent. The paper promptly withdrew
its support and he "lest out"
In the petty ward elections of dele
gates to the various conventions, one
cf the most common frauds practiced
was getting out bogus tickets, either
bribing the print shops to print them
or getting a friendly printer in the
ward to "hocus-pocus" the names so
that certain delegates would be
elected. This was one of the meanest
and most contemptible of practices,
bat it was something that could not
be stamped out and could only be
guarded against by constant vigilance.
Sometimes it was necessary to rout
a printer up in the middle of the night
before election and get put an entirely
new bunch of tickets to offset the
treachery or crookedness of seme in
dividuals. "Jobbing" was a. favorite method of
"bringing down", a candidate. .To
"job" a man required enough plotters
to "put up a job" of some kind on him
so that he might be made an object of
unpleasant notoriety and thus fall in
the estimation of the voters. Some-,
times this was accomplished in one
way, sometimes another. The ingenu
ity of men's imaginations was the
only limit to the scope of such schem
ing. To charge a man with "graft
ing" was one way. The opposition
papers could be depended upon to
make the most cf the charges in the
way cf publicity, at least, and once
you get a man explaining" the next
move was to ask him to "explain" his
L"e:planation." Alleged interviews, al-
'o-n'' lrnrrlinrv in iUn "vfirfv" o tn
partic-clar candidates these tricks I
--3-. - ........ V b.4V t(M. 1. . V. S
and hundreds of others were resorted I
to to do away with a candidate or to
hfuif 1i: :r .... r...j I
As for "counting cut a candidate"
who was honestly elected, that branch
of the game was a really classic one.
- mmmmmmmmm -g-,--,. , -
Bank Notes
the notes are to present pictures of
well-known buildings in Spain, exe
cuted with a perfection that will defy
counterfeiting.
"The pictures are to be so beautiful
that amateurs will be tempted to
frame them," says one "Spanish news
paper. "Hardly," rejoins another,
"the cost of the set will be L75'
pesetas, you see." To the Spanish
mind 1338.50 Is a great deal of money.
It required .the utmost solemnity and
decorum, surrounded by all possible
"legal safe-guards," and carried on
with that artistic assumption of fair
ness and regard for liberty's palladium
commensurate with the dignified
hypocrisy of the proceedings.
It can be readily Imagined from the
foregoing that a man had to keep his
eyes open when he went into politics.
Ordinary treachery and double-dealing
he became accustomed to at once, par
ticularly if he was in a ward where he
could depend upon meeting men
whose ideas of honesty were dim and
fleeting; and whose word of honor was
something less in substantiality than
a burned-out match. He might make
half a dozen iron-bound compacts with
the members of his own political
tribe in one night, to have day break
with a different combination forming
in his absence. The only way to rule
an ordinary ward is to have the power
over the "jobs" to be distributed, and
use that power with the utmost rigor.
Let every political worker know that
he will "walk the plank" Instantly If
"What's Your Name?"
he sidesteps or hesitates, and you
will have discipline, faithfulness and
results; never otherwise. If you hold
the reins of patronage you can guide
the political vehicle of your party
safely.
From the newspaper end of the
game you must expect not only a reck
less regard for fairness and justice,
but in the case of some sheets, a
steady stream of slander and libel.
Caricature (even Lincoln was vilely
caricatured) is a daily weapon, and
criticism of officials, laden with ridi
cule and contempt, was a matter of
course. Indeed, no man in any office
need expect any less than this, and is
foolish if he attempts to stop it I
recollect the excitement of an honored
citizen who sered with me on tho
board of local improvements (some
times called "the board of local amuse
ments") when a paper on the other
side of the political fence said we
were a "set of lazy, useless, good-fGr-nothing
incompetents," or words to
that effect. He wanted to sue the
paper for libel right away. But, pshaw,
that was a mere bagatelle.
But sometimes, especially in the
case ef certain papers, they hesitated
at nothing. I had an experience of
tills kind. One morning I was charged
with the committing of the crime of
attempted briber-. The article Was
the result of a petty ward conspiracy,
and was without any foundation what
soever. I read the article at noon, and
by three o'clock, as soon as the neces
sary papers could be drawn, had the
managing editor of the paper held for
criminal libel before the nearest jus
tice of the peace. In a few days the
paper paid all Uie costs of the proceed
ing, paid mj lawyer his fees and
printed on the front page of their
paper a complete retraction and
apology which I dictated and headed.
I then dismissed the charge against
their managing editor. He was a nice
fellow, all right, and had never seen
the article, having instructions to
rush everything through which he re
ceived from a certain "bureau." Yet
he was the "responsible party" Ifal-1
ly. I did not know who the reporter
was who turned the stuff in, and did
not care, as he Ttvj!d simply Up the
purveyor of the tale "as 'twas told
to him." I got to the bottom of the
thing afterwards. Now all that can
be done in these cases, no matter how
foul the wrong, is to jail the manag
ing editor six months and collect
money damages from the owners of
the paper. The only fair way to look
at abuses of this kind is to give tho
press the fullest possible liberty and
then make it a felony if they abuse
tho liberty.
The reputable newspapers do not
libel nor slander, although they
criticise bitterly. No man will object
to partisan criticism, politically, how
ever biting. But deliberate or even
careless criminal libel should be pun
ished when shown to bo the result of
malice or utter lack of caution.
In the political game en the lower
levels while a man will meet good men
and true occasionally, ho will be sur
prised at the rarity of such individ
uals. I don't know what it is in petty
municipal politics thaJL makes men as
they are, unless it is the cowardice
that depending absolutely upon it for
a ivm
engenders
Or is it
"Because their natures are li'tt
whether he heed it or ret.
and
Where each man walks with his head In .
KRNEST M'GAFFEY.
(Copyright. 29'G. by Joseph B. "BowlesJ
, - , - -- - lmmK.wVdtjVyJVyjnj
Graduated from the Bible.
Octave Thanet tells a story of an old
darky in Florida who was anxious to
learn to read, so that he could read
the Bible. He said that if he could
read the Bible he would want nothing
else. A friend of the narrator taught
him to read. Some time afterward she
visited his cabin and asked his wife
how his Bible reading was getting on.
"Laws, Miss Fanny," said this per
son, "he jes suttinly kin read fine.
He's done got oaten de Bible an' into
de newspapers."
F(D)rttlhi(g H(Q)tts
Labor Day Party" Thai Involves Little Trouble
and Is ?ry Hsjoyable Brtbday Suti
njsots for A!I tSjs Joirt5js.
"Are you renewing your youth, my
dear?" said Mme. Merri to a hostess
noted for "novel entertainments," who
was discovered In the toy department
buying all sorts of diminutive house
hold articles.
"No, I am only preparing for my
luncheon to be given"' on Labor day.
You know it is not far off."
Then I understood the selection of
tiny brooms', dust pans, wash tubs,
coffee pots, etc. I was so interested
in the clever scheme that I begged it
for the department, so here it is in
detail for others to go and do like
wise. The hostess being gifted In drawing
decorated each invitation with a young
woman in some act of household la
bor. Besides this there was nothing
else but the day and date, with the
quotation: "Learn to labor and to
wait;" also the request to wear a
wash gown. When the guests arrive
they are given aprons all finished ex
cept the strings, which are to be of
ribbon. This sewing done, the first
laDor Is accomplished. Bows to match
the apron strings are to be worn in
the hair, a long hairpin being thrust
through each to keep it in place. The
table center piece is to be a doll's
wash tub filled with asters; the place
cards are dust pans lettered in gold
tied to the cutest of brooms. Before
the dessert each guest is to brush her
own crumbs with her broom and dust
pan. And the dessert it is to be the
best of all. There will be eight guests,
and four wee ice cream freezers are to
be brought to the table. Four will
freeze and four concoct the cream, put
in the ice, salt, etc. If all goes well,
the cream will be ready to eat in less
than 15 minute and ten for the coffee.
For the Birthdays.
"Tell us about birthday celebrations,
how to make the day 'different,' what
the birth stones are," etc.
Mme. Merri has received so many
letters containing the above request
that to-day the stones for each month
are given with the verse. There are
also flowers and sentiments for each
month, but it would take too much
space to put them in this week, so
they will appear next Sunday. As a
special favor, will all those interested
please preserve these two articles for
future reference, as it will not be pos
sible to repeat them very soon. The
mm MM rr
PRETTY i ' Dresses for Grb
children. 1 0tt$MMm I ?
The first costume shown is suitable to be made up in any pretty washing
material, such as zephyr or lawn. Tha bodice Is arranged in rather wide box
plaits with tucks between; this is set beneath a yoke wiih deep points in the
center, three buttons being sewn in the point; the skirt is plaited into the
waist-band and the plaits are pressed,
collar and sleeve bands are of embroidery insertion. Hat of white straw.
trimmed with a wreatli of wild flowers. Material required for the dress: Six
yards 28 inches wide.
The second is in spotted washing silk, the bodice has a deep yoke in
the center made up of tucked Jap silk; lace insertion outlines the yoke and
carries out the same line a little further out, and is carried to the waist each
side. The skirt is cut to join the waist without fulness; it is trimmed with
lace insertion. Materials required: Six yards 22 inches wide, about seven
yards insertion; one-half yard plain silk.
The dress shown in the third illustration is for a girl from six to eight
years; it is a design that might be carried out in cottons, nun's veiling or de-
lame. une oouice anu sKirt are botn tun, the latter nnished by a plaiting of
the material headed by insertion. The deep turn-over collar is of washing
silk, edged with plaited lace, headed by insertion. Materials required: Four
yards 36 inches wide, five-eighths yard 22 inches wide for collar.
The last design is a pretty little pinafore dress of blue spotted zephyr;
tiny tucks are made in center front, and on shoulders, and the skirt is tucked
at the foot; both are gathered into a waist-band, over which is worn a ribbon
sash tied at the back. The blouse Is of white lawn. Hat of Leghorn, trimmed
with flowers. Materials required for the pinafore dress: Four and one-half
yards 28 inches wide, 1 yard lawn for blouse.
Corals are exceedingly smart witi
white dresses.
Young girls employ Grecian styles
in nair arrangements.
Fall costumes will almost undoubt
edly be of supple fabrics.
Effective belts of woven gold tissue
have leather pieces in front, which
serve as a support to the buckle.
The white linen collar is worn with
tailored waists, and beautiful hand-
- embroidered ones can be had for com
paratively little.
The little white snowflower with yel
low heart is seen on many of the best
hats.
Silk patchwork, now much in favor,
is a revival coincident with the pa
triotic renaissance.
Satin Egyptienne, a silk with a
woolen warp, is a smart material well '
adapted to the direcloire modes.
birth' stone is supposed to bring good
luck to the person who wears it, and
they are always popular as gifts of
sentiment; besides everyone likes an
individual gift:
JANUARY.
By her who In this month is born.
No gem save Garnets should be worn.
They will insure her constancy.
True friendship and lidelity.
FEBRUARY.
The February-born will find
Sincerity and peace of mind.
Freedom from passion and from care.
If they the Amethyst will wear.
MARCH.
Who in this world of ours their eyes
In March first open shall be wise;
In days of peril, Srm and brave.
And wear a Bloodstone to their grave.
APRIL.
She who from April dates her years.
Diamonds should wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone
Emblem of Innocence is known.
MAY.
Who first beholds the light of day
In spring's sweet flowery month of May,
And wears an Emerald all her life.
Shall be a loved and happy wife.
JUNE.
Who comes with summer to this earth.
And owes to June her day of birth.
With ring of Agate on her hand.
Can health, wealtii and long life com
mand. JULY.
The glowing Ruby should adorn
Those who in warm July are born:
Then will they be exempt and free
From love's doubts and anxiety.
AUGUST.
Wear a Sardonyx, or for thee
No congenial felicity.
Tiie August-born without this stone.
'Tis said, must live unloved and alone.
SEPTEMBER.
A maiden born when autumn leaves
Are rustling In September's breeze.
A Sapphire on her brow should bind
'Twill cure diseases of the mind.
OCTOBER.
October's child, is born for woe.
And life's vicissitudes must know;
But lay an Opal on her breast.
And hope will lull those woes to rest
NOVEMBER.
Who first comes to this world below
With drear November's fog and snow.
Should prize the Topaz, amber hue
Emblem of friends and lovers true.
DECEMBER.
If cold December gave you birth
The month of snow and Ice and mirth
Place "on your hand a Turquoise blue;
Success, will bless whate'er you do.
MADAME MERRI.
- - -,-l-Y,ir'"w'M"hr-irvvvw'y"w'vi"iiTj
but left to hang loose, not stitched. The
To Use Old Skirts.
The advent of the tunic, or, as it is
called, the overskirt, has given rise
to a new economy among women. This
is using up a well-cut silk or satin
foundation skirt to give an "air" to
an overskirt and bodice of a simple
striped materia!.
A woman who owned a smoke-gray
silk foundation skirt had it carefully
sponged, pressed out and left un
trimmed. She bought at the shops a
remnant of gray and white siriped cot
ton voile at a small price and made
an overskirt and bodice of it.
For the latter she used a piece of
the. gray silk body lining, cutting it
low-necked, taking out the sleeves and
finishing the edges with a tiny point
of lace.
The tunic was opened up the side,
cut to points, put into a box plait at
back, and its edges were bound with a
three-inch bias fold of the material.
The bodice was simply draped over
a guimpe of lace and was drawn into
a ii.-e-:m! empire belt of gray silk
"" r?d .ith old silver buttons at the
bad;
-
When the pheasant ceases drumming.
When the autumn cyclone's coming,
When the gaunt white wolf of winter la let loos
In the Injun summer; sonny,
Wouldn't you give ready money
For the wings and for the wisdom of a goose?
When the hoss that you
Smells the cinnamon in
ft'
. When he wheels and snorts and gives his head a toss;
When he tries so hard to tell you
That the cinnamon can smell you
Don't you wish you had the hess sense of a hoss?
Cy Warman.
"M,,wM,My r rri-nrrinnrirr -.j -su
A Bride in Ultimate
By Don
(Copyright, by
"In God's name, sign the passport
and let me go!"
"Pordon, monsieur; my signature
will not make good the passport. Mon
sieur must a new passport obtain from
his legate."
"A new one! It will take hours
days to do that, and he will be out of
my reach by morning."
"Monsieur, it is the law."
"The law! Shall this man be allowed
to rob me of my dearest possession,
while the law binds me here hand
and foot? Must I delay for a needless
sheet of paper while every minute
takes him nearer the sea coast and
farther from me? Can't you see my
cause is honest? Can't you understand
that I am no fugitive that I want only
to come up with this man? That he
has robbed me, and these formalities
that help to cover his flight are an out
rage against justice!"
"Pardon, monsieur; if the gentleman
has robbed you, it is best for you te
wait here and let the law the offi
cials, monsieur seek him."
"The law again!"
"Yes, monsieur."
"Then I have lost her forever!" The
traveler, who for some ten minutes
had been pleading with the courteous
official to honor his expired passport
and allow him to cross from France
into Spain, sank down upon a chair
in the private quarters of the French
railway station and buried his face
in his hands. '
"Lost her, monsieur?" the official
questioned, with a new show of inter
est. "Is it a lady?"
"Yes!" the other groaned. "He ha3
robbed me of my wife!"
"And the lady?"
"Is with him."
"Pardon again, monsieur; the gen
tleman you seek journeyed alone. Ah,
monsieur is mistaken! He need not
despair! Take courage! The gentle
man journeyed alone!"
"No, I say. She is with him and as
helpless as the dead."
"Monsieur!"
"I say, yes she is with him."
"In spirit, monsieur?"
"In body "
"Will monsieur explain to the offi
cials how the gentleman has robbed
him of his wife? We have the tele
graph and may the gentleman detain
before he reaches the sea coast. But
if monsieur will listen, he will learn
how the gentleman was not accom
panied by a lady, nor by a servant at
tended." "The lady is dead!" came the amaz
ing reply.
"Dead, monsieur!" exclaimed the of
ficial. "Ah!" A doubt as to the other's
sanity seemed to strike the French
man and he looked about uneasily.
"Will monsieur read to pass the
time?" he questioned.
"Read!" The American traveler
laubhed an unpleasant laugh. Then
his smothered impatience broke out.
"Can't I follow him on foot without
a passport?"
"No, monsieur; not into territory
Spanish."
"May death stop him then!" the oth
er cried with uplifted hands.
The Frenchman's suspicions deep
ened; but, courteous even to a mad
man, he only begged the other to have
patience.
"Yes, I know you think I rave," the
American broke in, passionately: "and
you would think me mad if I told you
the whole truth. Yet I say he has
robbed me of my wife and she is with
him in person. You, yourself, saw
her."
"Pardon, monsieur; I saw her not."
"Did he not wear a great diamond
upon his hand?"
"Monsieur is right."
"Then"
"It was a pool of light, monsieur."
continued the Frenchman. "Ah. it is
monsieur's jewel, and so lovely that he
calls it his wife!"
"It is my wife!" came the amazing
reply.
For a moment the other was wholly
nonplused. Then he questioned:
"Has monsieur wedded a jewel?"
"No I have wedded no jewel. That
stone, I say, is no jewel! it is a wom
an my wife flesh and blood! Ah,
honor the passport and let me go!"
Before the Frenchman could an
swer the sudden clanging of a bell,
a hiss of escaping steam and the rum
ble of car wheels was heard withont.
Both men rushed to the door and out
upon the platform. An engine with
three passenger coaches attached
drew into the station from the wrong
direction and contrary to official time.
What was wrong? The men were
soon to learn. Two coaches from the
rear of the train which had drawn out
of the station about half an hour be
fore had broken from their couplings
and been wrecked and, a high French
official being among the number in
jured, the engineer had reversed his
engine and returned for surgical aid
into French territory-
Despite the tragic nature of this re
turn, the American gave a cry of joy
and began searching among the pas
sengers for the fugitive the false
friend who had robbed him of his
ring.
That friend was not to be found
among the living, nor among the in
jured, and four of the five dead had
already been removed from the rear
1 coach to the station! Would the fifth
k
are riding
hiding.
W
w
--
Mark Lemon
Shortstory Pub. Co.)
and last corpse be that of the fugi
tive? Brushing by the porters, the Ameri
can leaped to where the fifth dead
body lay, crushed and mangled past
recognition save by its clothing, and
yes, the great white polar star-like
diamond that flamed upon a finger of
its bloodless hand!
Tearing the splendid jewel away,
the American brought it passionately
to his lips and murmured: "Darling,
look up! I am here!"
"Will monsieur show me the ring?"
the French station official questioned,
when again in his private quarters
alone with the American.
The latter drew the jewel from his
brea'st and handed it with a powerful
magnifying glass to the Frenchman.
"Look at the heart of the stone
through the glass." he said, softly.
The official did as he was bidden
and a cry of astonishment escaped
him.
"Monsieur, it Is divine!"
"Divine! It is the work of God him
self! Is not He an artist?"
The Frenchman turned again to the
diamond in the ring and for fully five
minutes gave it his unbroken atten
tion, scarcely breathing, as if he trem
bled to dim for a moment the magni
fying glass or the limpid gem beneath.
And well might the jewel hold his
gaze, for in the heart of the perfect
40-carat stone, attired in simple Gre
cian costume, with a red rose in the
dark hair, lay in repose the minute,
exquisite figure of a woman.
"Monsieur, she?"
"Is human."
"Ah!"
"Yes and once a divine and stately
woman."
"Monsieur, how?"
"She was my bride, and, as she re
clined one day within a large artificial
crystal, diamond-shaped we were re
hearsing for an entertainment in
which she was to appear as the spirit
of the diamond as she reclined In
the attitude which she now keeps,
somehow I don't know exactly how,
but I think that the crystal in which
There Was a Glint of Steel, a Sharp
Report, and He Pitched Headlong.
she was imprisoned had been made of
an unknown sand with some strange
inherent quality somehaw a bolt of
lightning leaped out of the clear sky,
that mysterious crystal seemed to
draw down upon itself all the electri
city in heaven, and when I found my
sight again this diamond lay at my
feet."
"And. monsieur, this is your bride?"
"Yes!, yes!" A great passion shook
the speaker and his voice broke pain
fully. "The force of the lightning
compressed that crystal and her sweet
body into what you see into ultimate
form."
"Monsieur, it is a jewel for a
deity."
The other made no immediate reply,
but stood looking upon the exquisite
form in the diamond as a lover looks
into the face of his beloved. Finally,
he said: "She is not dead to me, and
while I thus have her with me I care
not what I suffer."
He took the ring from the hollow
of his hand and was about to place it
upon his finger the diamond inward
when the lovely jewel slipped from
his hold and fell to the floor. As it
came in contact with the hard tiles,
there was a slight exnlosivo sntimi
and a shower of minute scintillating
particles seemed to burst from the
ring itself and scatter like dust on the
air.
With a cry of horror, the American
stooped and snatched up the ring. The
diamond was gone utterly from its
setting!
"My God!"
The word was a shriek, and tho
American staggered back against the
wall, his face drawn with unspeakable
agony.
"Monsieur! Monsieur! Monsieur!"
The American's right hand made a
quick backward movement.
"She never died till now!" he cried.
"Oh, my God!"
There was a glint of steel, a sharp
report, and, as the Frenchman rushed
forward, the other pitched headlong
to his feet, dead!
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