The Pearsall Leader (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, October 27, 1911 Page: 3 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Borderlands Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
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The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
put their promise into
CHAPTER XVI.
pushed away the bench, dropped his
face into his hands and gave way to
grief that moved equally the man long
hardened to dissection of the body
and the veteran crime hunter accus-
tomed to vivisection of the soul. Few
things are more terrible than to see
an old mm weep. It is dual sur-
render, for tears are the prerogative
of youth and womanhood. Britz ^and
Fitch with difficulty controlled their
own emotions just for a moment, for
tears streamed over the ashen coun-
tenance of the broken amateur al-
chemist, and his wasted form writhed
and rocked in convulsive sobs.
“I have had my punishment,” said
Martin when at last the tempest had
spent itself; “but, oh, the long years
—the long years of remorse!, Urged
by poverty, that enemy of seekers aft-
er truth and beauty, I succumbed to
the temptation the stranger held out
to me. I made the great diamond as
he desired—and I gave it to him for
his gold!"
The doctor glanced swiftly at the
detective and started to speak. Britz
raised a warning hand, and Fitch
checked his exclamation. Seating
himself for the first time the Central
Office man—the prober of mysteries—
laid his hand encouragingly on \he
diamond-maker’s shoulder, and said:
“There now; don’t let it distress
you so much. Other men have done,
things far worse than that!”
“Nothing could be worse,” screamed
Martin, springing from the low stool
on which he sat and facing his visi-
tors in an agony of abasement “I
sold the delight of my eyes, the light
of my life, the star of my soul—the
queen of all jewels, the purest truest
most beautiful diamond the world has
ever known!”
“Yes,” said the detective, “but don’t
forget it was yours to sell.' You had a
right to do as you pleased with it”
“I had no stch right,” cried the al-
chemist. “That diamond was the
-ounger doctors showed
ar with the old dla-
case, and seemed thor-
:rstand his delusion,
in my ward,” he said,
there six months; rath-
;e; harmless but hope-
d himself of the idea
are banked up all
id that all he has to do
with his own hands to
hole of that wrealth in
ies his best to make it,
rely the ingredients he
ide several dangerous
of course he cannot be
pounding away with a
rtar when his brain is
■it he is likely to for-
Ths Assistant District Attorney.
While Britz was struggling with ths
tangled threads of contrwlictory cir-
cumstances that constituted the fab-
ric of the diamond mystery, the dis-
trict attorney’s office was not inactive.
With the slow stealthiness of a cat
approaching its prey it combined the
disconnected fragments of evidence
gathered by the police into the sem-
blance of a perfect case, and prepared
to present It to a jury. The grand
jury had Indicted Elinor Holcomb, and
again she was dragged into the glare
of a courtroom, this time to plead to
the indictment. There remained only
the verdict of a petit jury to open the
gates of state’s prison for her. Her
lawyer was served with the fateful
notice of trial, and sne was made to
realize the great struggle was about
to begin.
Assistant District Attorney Mott
was taking a last survey of the depo-
sitions in the case, mentally picturing
the curtain of gilt he would weave be-
fore the jury. To his mind the evi-
dence was conclusive. It pointed irre-
sistibly to Miss Holcomb as the thief.
And yet, the prosecutor felt there
was something strangely lacking in
the structure; something that made it
appear hollow and unreal. No other
reasonable explanation of the disai*
pearance of Mrs. Missioner’s neck-
lace offered itself, and still it was
hard to 'conceive Miss Holcomb as the
thief. Mott knew that the same un-
certainty in the minds of the jurora
would inevitably result in a verdict.of
acquittal. The benefit of any reason-
able doubt as to her guilt must go to
her, and he realized he had yet to
eliminate that last slim possibility of
a verdict favorable to the prisoner.
Were it an ordinary larceny case he
would be content to offer the testi-
mony at hand and leave the verdict
to the conscience of the jurors. But
this trial would fill thousands of news-
paper columns. The press of the en-
tire country was on the alert for it.
It meant much to a struggling assist-
ant to obtain a conviction in so fa-
mous a case. To lose, he feared,
would reflect oil his own competence.
The entrance of Brits brought the
prosecutor out of his absorption.
“Just the man I wanted to see,” he
greeted.
“And I’m equally glad to find you
In,” the detective returned.
“I've got the evidence down pat,”
Mott responded. “It seems complete;
and yet, somehow, I feel that it is
not entirely convincing. I want to get
something to clinch it. It’s a pretty
tough proposition at best to get a con-
viction on circumstantial evidence
when the defendant is a woman of
good appearance, and I don’t want to
slip up on this case. We haven’t got
much time left. The case is on the
calendar for next Monday."
“That’s what I came to see you
about,” informed Britz. "I want to
get you to adjourn the trial a month.”
“New facts?” anxiously inquired tha
prosecutor.
• “Yes.”
“Who do you think did the trick?”
suddenly questioned Mott.
“Sands, Griswold or the Indian serv-
ant,” came from the detective's hesi-
tant lips.
The prosecutor’s hands went above
his head in a despairing gesture.
“Is that as far as you’ve arrived?
Three suspects, and you’ve no idea
which one you want! What sort of
weak stuff is in your possession that
you don’t know whom you’re after?”
“The circle is narrowing very quick-
ly,” Britz observed. “In the next few
days I’ll know who com/nitted the
robbery, how It was committed, and
where the jewels were taken. But I
have got to have the necessary time."
“All right,” agreed the prosecutor.
He called a clerk and directed him
to inform Miss Holcomb’s lawyer that
the case had been withdrawn from the
calendar for a month.
The detective was reaching for his
hat when Donnelly and Carson burst
into the room. Donnelly's face was
flushed with the news of a great dis-
covery. Carson was smiling approv-
ingly on hia partner.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
al men looked in
with him, doctor
1 harmless things—
d sodium phosphate,
inch chalk, and he
rrythlng he needs,
nts that is not dan-
mve. He is happy
mashing the paste
ay all day long. He
to dirty little gray
hey are diamonds.”
look at him,” said
His Pliant Hands Had Been Plunged Many Times Into a Dough-Like Lump.
ed by a swift search of the detective’s
face on the part of the old man’s
sunken eyes.
“Rather interesting work you’re do-
ing,” pursued the detective.
Thereupon Mr. Martin rejoined:
“It is the only work that can inter-
est me. I have given my life to it.”
“Find it profitable?” Inquired the
sleuth.
For an instant'those gray fingers
paused In their manipulation of the
clay pellets.
“Wen, It depends on what you call
profitable, young man,” answered the
ward of the State. “There are things
more important than monetary gain.”
“Oh, yes, I know, I know,” said the
detective hastily. “I suppose your
work is purely scientific?”
“It is more than science,” answered
Martin. "It Is art, philosophy, philan-
thropy—everything. It is the crystal-
lization of the beautiful. Love is beau-
ty, and beauty is life. All mankind
needs is beauty in greater measure
and higher degree to attain perfection
of happiness.”
“And you are engaged in forward-
ing that theory?”
“Yes,” said the old man simply. “I
have taken upon myself the task of
glorifying every home In the world
with the prisoned sunshine of the cen-
turies. Every abode of man, however
humble, should be Illuminated by the
light of diamonds. The diamond is
the most exquisite expression of crea-
tive love we have. The only trouble
is that we have not enough of them.
It has remained for me—it has re-
mained for the poor .old student of
mysteries to find the key to the true
jewel wealth of the universe. For
thousands of years men have been
seeking diamonds in the ground. I
I take them from the air.”
In similar vein he ran on, his words
i betraying the strange groping of a
; clouded mind that in its time had
been nearer the truth than most men’s.
There was something extraordinary
i about the little old fellow’s brain. It
had not cracked; rather, it had been
attenuated by overstrain. It was after
a process of patient questioning cov-
ering so long a time that it ended in
the twilight, that Britz'led the tireless
worker back £o days before his arrival
in the asylum. The protracted inquiry
taxed all the detective’s skill in word-
handling.
Fitch, scientist though he was, long
conversant with the phenomena of the
mind as he had been, marveled at the
Headquarters man’s adroitness. Long
before Britz had finished his task, the
doctor, in sheer weariness dropped
into a chair and stayed there In silent
attention. But the detective remain-
ed on his feet, Immutable as the in-
carnation of will itself, and slowly,
cautiously, persistently piloted that
darkened intelligence out of its depths
back to at least a gloaming of coher-
ent memory. So guided, so aided and
lifted along the difficult backward
path, Martin’s mind reverted to in-
stances that hnng like stalactites from
the cavern ceiling of restrospection.
It was in a flash of intelligence, brief-
ly eliminated as a twinkle of daylight
seen from the recesses of a cave, that
the old mar. recalled the great triumph
of his strange craft
"I have made diamonds, yes,” he
said in response to a query from the
detective, swift and searching as a
rapier thrust, “beautiful enough to
hang about the neck of a princess;
brilliant enough to glorify the hut of
a toller In the fields; but there was
one1—ah!” His recollection reveled in
widening circles until its force was
spent. For a long time, his hands
motionless again, he sat gazing into
the past. Britz, feeling that he was
on the edge of an important disclos-
ure, waited patiently. Fitch scarcely
breathed.
“I mind me,” the one-time curio
dealer resumed, “of the one great dia-
mond that came as the grand reward
of all my labor. Ah, that was a diar
mond! But though it was a woliderful
achievement, I dishonored myself in
the making of it for—” and a faint
flush deepened on his parchment
face, “I fashioned It for gain;”
Without an instant’s warning he
Vou don’t mind if I
>u? I have an arapu-
it ten minutes, and as
i nurse helping me, I
ke any chances in let-
with the ether cone,
imi, will you, if I ask
it along by yourself?
you like.”
h were glad enough of
to question the old
: auditor, and with a
!” to his colleagues,
loted the detective
stretches in that home
to the ward where the
3 found.
ner of the long, bleak
■ness of which was re-
by a few boxes and
> and fuchsias on the
ted at. a bench cover-
ting leather, was the
he physician and the
euth sought,
s face was a rapt look
he was as far away
r environment as if he
ikr.le dingy curio shop
Fitch first had seen
hands had been
imes into a dough-like
a < :ilptor’s clay at
bench. A row of jars
the bench was flank-
' vials. An earthern
water stood at his
"ectiy in front of him,
orkmanlike confusion,
ie’te knives and mix-
• lessly his fingers
■ - from the plastic
d pitted them, dipped
owl of water, coated
. :any-colored contents
id jars, then trundled
’ ard with industry
performance, but pur-
ctral smile seemed to
tdaverous features—a
e the specter of a
io sunlight, reflected
jars and bottles, play-
with the countour of
e his tireless hands a
•ance. lie was a poor
emnant of a man, the
hat had been'a dab-
ult, and which along
might have been a
' r tist. No one look-
d ever have pictured
i of the greed of gain.
! made no pretense of
uogist, comprehended
1 outer vision of the
shop proprietor con-
tils distraught scien-
ond doubt, the old
md said, had run the
a means to an end.
stood looking at him
•nts before he became
presence. When at
up a shade of perplex-
- his face, his fingers
did not stop in their
nd he looked at them
ith a slight shake of
parently gave up ihe
ke out their identity,
bent his eves on the
regarded as the thres-
Bltierly Disappointed.
Here’s a story in the week's annals
of Maine merchants, this time from
Portland. A Portland tradesman waa
visited by a friend from the country
and among attempts to entertain took
the visitor to the theater. When the
lights were low the merchant quietly
drew forth a pair of opera glasses
and handed them to his guest A con-
tented “Ah” slipped from the man
from the country and then his arms
in the air were faintly discernible.
“What’s the trouble?" asked the host
The answer came In a distressingly
plain whisper of. disappointment: “Oh.
nothing, only the thing’s empty.”
member me, Mr.
ir The old man
Britz and P’ltch
1 the detective
o awaken a re-
nmate’s mental
ian, eh?” said Britz.
id the right choFd.
the industry that ab-
senBes was sure to
igence of the old
nodded briskly, and
work more zealously
Good Idem.
Jack Hardup (with unwonted enthu-
siasm)—“By Jove! I see that soma
fellow is talking about introducing a
bill • Into the house maxing it a mis-
demeanor to send annoying letters to
anybody. Very clever idea, that I’U
have my tailor locked up for sis
months, by Jove!”
ontract on time?”
am pursued.
Utile nod. follow-
MR. BRUXTON 8ANDS.
•But i Have Got to Have ths Necessary Tima,"
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Hudson, C. H. & Woodward, Roy. The Pearsall Leader (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, October 27, 1911, newspaper, October 27, 1911; Pearsall, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth974726/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .