THE ARISTOCRATIC CUSTOMER

Wairoa Bell, Volume IV, Issue 155, 22 July 1892, Page 6

THE ARISTOCRATIC CUSTOMER

‘ Sharp ? Have to be sharp ? I believe you, my boy ; the way of transgressors is hard, but the lines of those who have to watch them are certainly harder, especially in our trade ; sharp’s the word with us all the time,’ Bullion, my friend, whose laugh as he made the above remarks was not as jolly as usual, is known to be one of the most reliable dealers in jewellery and precious stones in a prominent city, ‘ Was I ever bit ?’ he continued ; ‘ yes, I have been bit, and in the worst way, too. As 1 have acknowledged this much to you, which I don’t do to every man. I may as well tei] the worst and most complete swindle of which I was ever made the victim. ‘ It was just after the close of a recent war when, in certain lands, money was as pleutiful as promises in the mouth of a candidate. One day in August all my clerks but one were away on vacation, and I was ‘tending’ shop. Business was dull, and I thought, as 1 loaned against a showcase and gazed out upon the almost deserted streets, that for all the profit there was in keeping open we might as well shut up and and be off to the seashore with the rest of creation, ‘My attention was aroused from this reverie by the opening of the shop door. I looked up as t here entered a perfect type of the elegant gentleman. His clothing was of the best material and in thorough taste. He was tall, handsome, dignified, with snowwhite necktie, and gold—rimmed spectacles across his aristocratic nose. He might have been a bapk manager, a member of Parliament, a clergyman, a bishop He certainly looked respectable enough to be either, or all in one. ‘I was prepossessed in his favour in an instant, and set him down for a sure customer if I could suit him by any possible amount of care or trouble. ‘I am recommended to you, sir—Mr Bullion I believe ?’—l bowed— 1 by Messrs Blank and Blankety. I understand you have the best collection or assortment of diamonds in the city,’ ‘ I believe, honestly, sir, that no house in the country carries a larger or more varied Stock,’ I replied proudly. ‘ Well, my daughter is with me here, from the West, and has met the gentleman to whom she has been engaged for several years. He has been through the war and gained the high promotion he merits, but his leave of absence will not give him time to visit our far off home, and 1 have, weakly perhaps, yielded to the solicitation of the youDg people and consented that the wedding should take place here and immediately. * My motherless daughter is all I have on earth, and lacking time to make preparation for more rational gifts, I must do the best I can in the way of trinkets and deck her out with jewels that all women love so well. At all events, diamonds are a good investment. But come, let us see what you have that might please my little girl.’ ‘ I displayed my entire stock ; tray after trav of glittering gems I produced, and though he handled them and held them up in different lights there was not one sign of those suspicious movements which we dealers have learned to know so well and to watch for so closely, ‘ At last he made his selections —a pair of earring £6O, a bracelet £IOO, a brooch £25, a solitaiT 6 ring £4O, and a lace pin for the only bridesT* £2O. All these were set with the first-waT r diamonds, you will understand : £245 !—rat.V-r 8 S ood hour’s work for a hot August morffibg; wasn’t it ?’ ‘ My customer was particular about the cases in which these precious gifts were to repose ; tne usual ones would not satisfy his fastidious taste, and so I fitted the trinkets into special, receptacles which brought the amount up tc £2O more. "When this was done, or while it was being done, the gentleman was busy count—irg over the contents of a large liussialeather pecket-book, and when I handed him the small but valuable package and the bill (the bill, from force of habit, being presented a little in advance) he passed me over n cheque and some bank notes. There was £245 in all. * Beplacing the large wallet in his breastpocket, he produced a email purse and pvo-

ceedeci to pay the balance. After searching in every pocket iso found himself half-a-crown short. ‘ My dear sir,’ said I, ‘ never mind that trifle ; I assure you I am perfectly satisfied.’ ‘ No, sir, I don’t do business that way,’ he replied, with some warmth. ‘ I owe no man a penny’; and he began to search for loose coin, It never struck me then as strange that he did not give me a note to change, for he had plenty of small paper money. 'While he fumbled and fussed, and while I,partly occupied myself with trying to look as though I was paying no attention to him, I noticed a rather roughly dressed thick-set man pass and repass the door. Then be came up and flattened his nose against the plate-glass window. His next move was to place his body inside the door and close it. Then, with a sigh of relief and disgustingly familiar wink towards me, he said under his breath :—• ‘ln time, alter all?’ and with that he stepped up to my elegant customer, whose back had been turned to him all this while, and smacked him briskly on the shoulder. ‘ Hey, Dick, at your old tricks yet, are you ?’ ‘ The gentleman turned around, tinned red, turned white, and seemed to be turned speechless. As for me, I was red hot with rage. ‘ What do you mean ! ’ I demanded, ‘ by coming into this place and insulting my customers ? Who are yum, sir ? ’ ‘ Customer, eli ? Been buying, has he ? He’s a nice customer, he is ; aud as to who I am and what I mean, there’s my card ; that’ll soon tell you all you want to know.’ ‘ I i.lont want your card, sir—l wont look at it. Get out of here. This gentle - man has bought my goods and paid for them—paid for them, sir ! ' and I glanced at the card and saw the word ‘ detective ’ thereon, but still I was not ready to believe, ‘ I dont care if you were a dozen detectives, you can t insult gentlemen in my shop. John,’ and I turned to my clerk, ‘ call a policeman.’ ‘ Call three or four if you want to,’ said the rough intruder ; ‘ but Dick,’ and he now addressed the gentleman, ‘ will you go quietly with me, or will you not ? ’ ‘ Judge of my amazement th hear my elegant customer hiss beneath his teeth a horrible oath ‘ You’ve got me dead to rights, what’s the use of chimiin’ ? ’ and then the mask fell and I could see what a sleek loathing, deep villian he was, ‘ You see sir,’ said the rough man to me in a tone of apology,’ ‘ this is Diamond Dick, the dowriest cuss in the business. I know his lay, and saw him come in here, and I think you’ll say its mighty lucky I did. What he paid you may look all right but I’ll bet you’ll find something crooked in it somewhere. Anyhow, lie’s ‘ wanted ’ for three or four other jobs in as many cities.’ To say I was astonished is to draw it very mildly. I was so dumbfounded that I lost my head completely. ‘ Jest let me see the cash he gave you ? ’ said the detective, and I handed it over. ‘ Jest so,’ said he again ; ‘l’ll jest take cha.ige of this uutil we get to the office,’ and, putting his hand in the villian’s pocket ‘ I’ll jest take charge of these shiners also and then you’ll know they are all safe. And fhe transferred money, cseque and jewellery to a portion of his own rough jacket. ‘ My former customer was surly an had nothing to say. Of course, I liad to accompany them to the police-station. I bade my clerk call a carriage and we al entered. A short drive brought us to the Central Office, over which the Mayor or his representative presided. The cel! s pvere in the basement, the office on the first floor. ‘The carriage halted. Under instructions from the detective I alighted and entered the office to wait until lie locked the prisoner in a cell downstairs prior to making a formal complaint, As I closed the door to the police-court room I heard the carriage drive away, ‘ I waited fiye minutes, ten, fifteen,thirty an hour ! No business was transacted, and I knew I was an object oi: curiosity through tlio room. I had noticed a door leading out of it on which was a sign 1 Chief of Police.’ Heartily out of patience I abruptly made my way into the presence of that dignitary ana demanded when he

or any one else was going to give a hearing to Diamond Dick, and asked the whereabouts of the detective. 1 The chief started. ‘I explained. ‘ My dear sir,’ said he, ‘ you are the victim of as smart a pair of swindlers as there are in the country. The villian and detective are pals, and your money and diamonds are, lam afraid, lost for ever. I am very sorry, and will help you all I can, though there is litlle chance, for these rascals, ‘ stand in ’ with some of our men—they have played the same game in nearly every city in the country, and we have not been able to catch them yet,”