SOME CONJECTURES
Mr. Gustave Schultze dropped in to see Mr. Latham after luncheon, and
listened with puckered brows to a recital of the substance of the
detective's preliminary report, made the afternoon before.
"Mr. Birnes left here rather abruptly," Mr. Latham explained in
conclusion, "saying he would see me again, either last night or
to-day. He has not appeared yet, and it may be that when he comes he
will be able to add materially to what we now know."
The huge German sat for a time with vacant eyes.
"Der gread question, Laadham," he observed at last, gravely, "iss
vere does Vynne ged dem."
"I know that--I know it," said Mr. Latham impatiently. "That is the
very question we are trying to solve."
"Und if we don'd solve him, Laadham, ve'll haf to do vatever as he
says," Mr. Schultze continued slowly. "Und ve _may_ haf to do
vatever as he says, anywhow."
"Put one hundred million dollars into diamonds in one year--just the
five of us?" demanded the other. "It's preposterous."
"Id _iss_ brebosterous," the German agreed readily; "but das iss no
argument." He was silent for a little while. "Vere does he ged dem?
Vere does he ged dem?" he repeated thoughtfully. "Do you believe,
Laadham, it vould be bossible to smuggle in dwenty, d'irty, ein
hundred million dollars of diamonds?"
"Certainly not," was the reply.
"Den, if dey were _nod_ smuggled in, dey are somewhere on der records
of der Custom House, ain'd id?"
Mr. Latham snapped his fingers with a sudden realization of this
possibility.
"Schultze, I believe that is our clew!" he exclaimed keenly.
"Certainly they would have been listed by the customs department; and
come to think of it, the tariff on them would have been enormous, so
enormous that--that--" and he lost the hopeful tone--"so enormous
that we must have heard of it when it became a matter of public
record."
"_Yah_," Mr. Schultze agreed. "Diamonds like dose dupligates of der
Koh-i-noor, der Orloff und der Regent could never haf passed through
der Custom House, Laadham, mitoud attracting attention, so?"
Mr. Latham acquiesced by a nod of his head; Mr. Schultze sat
regarding him through half-closed eyelids.
"Und if dey are _nod_ on der Custom House records," he continued
slowly, "und dey are _nod_ smuggled in, den, Laadham, _den--Mein
Gott_, man, don'd you see?"
"See what?"
"Den dey are produced in dis country!"
For a minute or two Mr. Latham sat perfectly still, gazing into the
other's eyes. First he was startled, then this gave way to
incredulity, and at last he shook his head.
"No," he said flatly. "No."
"Laadham, ve Amerigans produce anyding," the German went on
patiently. "In eighdeen hundred und forty-eight ve didn't know
California vas full of gold; und so late as eighdeen hundred und
ninedy-four ve didn't know der Klondike vas full of gold. Der
greadest diamond fields ve know now are in Africa, bud in eighdeen
hundred und sixty-six ve didn't know _id_! Dere iss no reason ve
should _nod_ produce diamonds."
"But look here, Schultze," Mr. Latham expostulated, "it's--it's
unheard of."
"So vas der Mizzizzippi River until id was discovered," the German
argued complacently. "You are a diamond dealer, Laadham, bud you
don'd know much aboud dem from whey dey come at. Iss Czenki here?
Send for him. He knows more aboud diamonds as any man vat ever
lived."
Mr. Latham sent an office boy for Czenki, who a few minutes later
appeared with an inquiry in his beady black eyes and a nod of
recognition for Mr. Schultze.
"Sid down, Mr. Czenki," the German invited. "Sid down und draw a
long breath, und den dell Mr. Laadham here someding aboud diamonds."
"What is it, please?" Mr. Czenki asked of Mr. Latham.
"Mr. Czenki, have you any very definite idea as to where those
diamonds came from?" asked Mr. Latham.
"No," was the unhesitating response.
"Is it possible that they might have been found in the--in the United
States?" Mr. Latham went on.
"Certainly. They might have been found anywhere."
"As a matter of fact, were any diamonds _ever_ found in the United
States?"
"Yes, frequently. One very large diamond was found in 1855 at
Manchester, across the James River from Richmond, Virginia. It
weighed twenty-four carats when cut, and is the largest, I believe,
ever found in this country."
Mr. Latham seemed surprised.
"Why, you astonish me," he remarked.
"Vait a minute und he'll astonish you some more," Mr. Schultze put in
confidently. "Vere else in der United States haf diamonds been
found, Czenki?"
"In California, in North Carolina, and in Hall County, Georgia,"
replied the expert readily. "There is good ground for the belief
that the stone found at Richmond had been washed down from the
mountains farther in the interior, and, if this is true, there is a
substantial basis for the scientific hypothesis that diamond fields
lie somewhere in the Appalachian Range, because the diamonds found in
both North Carolina and Georgia were adjacent to these mountains."
He paused a moment. "This is all a matter of record."
His employer was leaning forward in his chair, gripping the arms
fiercely as he stared at him.
"Do you believe it possible, Mr. Czenki," he asked deliberately,
"that Mr. Wynne has found these diamond fields?"
The expert shrugged his slender shoulders.
"It is possible, of course," he replied. "From time to time great
sums of money have been spent in searching for them, so--" He waved
his hand and was silent.
"Zo you see, Laadham," Mr. Schultze interpolated, "ve don'd know
anyding much. Ve _know_ der African fields, und der Australian
fields, und der Brazilian fields, und der fields in India, bud ve
_don'd_ know if new fields haf been found. By der time you haf lived
so long as me you won't know any more as I do."
There was silence for a long time. Mr. Czenki sat with impassive
face, and his hands at rest on the arms of the chair. At last he
spoke:
"If you'll pardon me, Mr. Latham, I may suggest another possibility."
"_Vas iss?_" demanded Mr. Schultze quickly.
"Did you ever hear of the French scientist, Charles Friedel?" Mr.
Czenki asked, addressing Mr. Latham.
"Never, no."
"Well, this idea has occurred to me. Some years ago he discovered two
or three small diamonds in a meteor. We may safely assume, from the
fact that there were diamonds in one meteor, that there may be
diamonds in other meteors, therefore--"
The German importer anticipated his line of thought and arose with a
guttural burst of Teutonic expletives.
"Therefore," the expert went on steadily, "is it not possible that
Mr. Wynne has stumbled upon a huge deposit of diamonds in some
meteoric substance some place in this country? A meteor may have
fallen anywhere, of course, and it may have been only two months
ago, or it may have been two thousand years ago. It may even be
buried in his cellar."
The huge German nodded his head vigorously, with sparkling eyes.
"It seems extremely probable that if diamond fields had been
discovered in the Appalachian Range," Mr. Czenki went on, "it would
have become public in spite of every effort to prevent it; whereas,
it is possible that a meteor containing diamonds might have been
hidden away easily; and, also, the production of diamonds from such
a source in this country would not make it necessary for the diamonds
to pass through the Custom House. Is it clear, sir?"
"Why, it's absurd, fantastic, chimerical!" Mr. Latham burst out
irritably. "It's ridiculous to consider such a thing."
"I beg your pardon," Mr. Czenki apologized. "It is only a
conjecture, of course. I may add that I don't believe that three
stones of the size of the replicas which Mr. Wynne produced here
could have been found anywhere in the world and brought in here--
smuggled in or in the usual way--and the secret held against the
thousands of men who daily watch the diamond fields and market. It
would not be difficult, however, if one man alone knew the source of
the stones, to keep it from the world at large. I beg your pardon,"
he added.
He arose as if to go. Mr. Schultze brought a heavy hand down on the
slim shoulder of the expert, and turned to Mr. Latham.
"Laadham, you are listening to der man who knows more as all of us
pud in a crowd," he declared. "_Mein Gott_, I do believe he's
right!"
Mr. Latham was a cold, unimaginative man of business; he hadn't even
believed in fairies when he was a boy. This was child-talk; he
permitted himself to express his opinion by a jerk of his head, and
was silent. Diamonds like those out of meteors! Bosh!