"Well, what's the trouble here?" asked the officer.
"The trouble is that man stole a five-carat unset diamond from our
store and came here to pawn it. I followed him and got it away from
him. I expect the manager of the store here any moment so I want that
man detained till he comes," said Dick.
"It's a lie. The diamond is my property," said the accused wrathfully.
"He brought a lady with him and she has just run away," said Dick.
"That looks suspicious."
"She was frightened by the trouble that you raised, you young imp."
The policeman turned to the head clerk and asked for the facts as far
as he knew them. The chief clerk told the officer all that had happened
from the moment the parties to the dispute made their appearance.
"This boy has the diamond, then?" said the policeman.
"He has," answered the pawn clerk.
"Hand it to me, young man."
Dick took it out of his pocket and turned it over to the officer.
"You charge this man with the theft of the stone from your store?"
"I do."
"Did you see him take it?"
"I did not."
"Then how do you know he stole it?"
"Because circumstances point towards him."
"What do you mean by circumstances?"
Dick explained that the accused had called at the store and asked to
be shown some diamonds. A tray of the stones had been submitted to
his inspection under the eyes of the salesman. He looked over quite
a number, and finally said the prices were too high for him to pay.
Then he started to leave, but the salesman called him back because he
noticed that one of the diamonds was missing. The man finally submitted
to a search in the manager's office, and the diamond not being found on
him, he was allowed to go.
"You see," said the accused, brightening up, "there is no evidence
against me."
"You admit, then, you were in our store?" said Dick quickly.
"Yes, I never denied the fact."
"Is that so?" returned the boy. "A few minutes ago you said before this
clerk that you had not been in any store this morning. Isn't that a
fact?" added Dick, turning to the head clerk.
"Yes, he did say that," admitted the clerk.
"There you are," said Dick triumphantly.
"I couldn't have said such a thing," protested the man. "At any rate,
you have shown that I didn't steal the diamond from your store."
"I have merely admitted that I did not see you take the stone. You'll
have to explain how you came to have the missing stone in your
possession when you came here to pawn it."
"That stone belongs to the lady who was with me. It never came out of
your store."
"All right. When the manager arrives he will know the stone."
"I don't care what he will have to say about it. The stone belongs to
the lady."
"You have been claiming it as your own right along."
"Well, what's hers is mine, in a way."
"Is she your wife?"
"It's none of your business whether she is or not."
"She did not claim the stone from the time I grabbed it till she ran
away. If it was her property, I should think she would have put up a
big kick."
"Where is the store you claim to be connected with?" asked the
policeman.
"It's at No. -- John street. Mr. Roger Bacon is the proprietor."
At that moment the manager of the store entered with the diamond
salesman. Both of them immediately identified the accused as the man
who had visited the store an hour or more since, and the manager
corroborated all that Dick had already told about the circumstances of
the case.
"But you have no evidence against the man," said the policeman.
"I understand that he brought a diamond here to pawn. I'd like to see
it," said the manager.
The officer handed the five-carat stone to him. He looked it over and
handed it to the salesman.
"Is that the stone that you missed?" he said.
"Yes, that appears to be the stone," said the clerk.
"How do you recognize it?" asked the officer, who believed that all
unset diamonds of a size looked as much alike as all peas of a size.
The salesman explained that it was a part of his business to make
himself familiar with the looks and quality of all diamonds he had
charge of.
"Well, this may or may not be the stone you assert is missing from
your stock," said the policeman; "but as long as you can't show that
this man took it, I don't see how I can run him in without a regular
warrant."
"I think I can throw some light on the matter," said Dick at this point.
All hands looked at him.
"Here's a piece of gum which I saw that man throw into the street after
picking something out of it," he said, handing the gum to the manager.
"It evidently held the diamond, for it bears a clear impression of a
five-carat stone."
"It does, indeed!" said the manager.
"The lady who was in the store looking at rings when you sent me on the
errand came up to that man and handed him that piece of gum. It was
the singularity of their meeting that aroused my suspicions and caused
me to watch and then follow them to this place, particularly after I
picked the gum up and saw the impression of a diamond in it. I judged
at once that the man must have hidden the stone in the gum and left
it somewhere about the counter where the lady found it afterward and
brought it to him."
Dick's words seemed to make the matter quite clear to the manager, who
was familiar with many of the tricks adopted by diamond thieves to ply
their vocation without detection.
"The gum business is an old trick," said the manager. "It's a wonder it
did not occur to you," he added, looking at the salesman. "When a thief
comes into a store he sometimes carries a piece of adhesive gum like
that," he explained to the policeman. "The first thing he does is to
attach it to the bottom of the showcase, out of sight. Then he watches
his chance, and if he is a sufficiently expert sleight-of-hand artist,
he manages at some time during his inspection of the stones to convey a
diamond to the gum and force it into it. When the diamond is afterward
missed he cheerfully submits to a search, for the stolen stone is not
on his person. Later he sends a confederate into the store to get the
gum, under cover of an intention to make some kind of a purchase, other
than diamonds, at that counter. In this case, it is quite clear to me
that the lady was the man's confederate. I think I am fully justified
in demanding that fellow's arrest at our risk. It is too bad that the
woman got away, but I guess we'll be able to find her. You have her
description, Dick," he said to the office boy.
"Yes, sir. I'd recognize her on sight."
"Now, officer, you may arrest that man and take him to the police
station. We will go with you and make the charge," said the manager.
"All right," said the policeman. "Come on, my man, you'll have to go
with me."
That settled the case as far as the pawnshop was concerned, and the
party directly interested started with the officer and the prisoner for
the Brooklyn Bridge station. The charge was made against the man, who
gave his name as Jack Hurley, and he was locked up pending his removal
to the Tombs prison. The manager, salesman and Dick then returned to
the store. The former complimented the office boy on his smartness
in bringing the thief to justice, which would result in the ultimate
return of the valuable diamond to the store. Mr. Bacon, who had been
informed of the theft of the stone, was duly put in possession of
Dick's clever work toward its recovery and the punishment of the thief
and, it was hoped, his accomplice. He sent for his office boy and
added his compliments to those of the manager.
"You're a clever boy, Dick," he concluded, "and I'll see that you lose
nothing through your devotion to my interests. That's all."
Dick got up and returned to his duty.