CHAPTER III.--Dick Meets the Mason Family.
The gentleman took Dick into the house by a side door and up a backstairs to his own room. Here he provided the boy with a pair of longstockings and his own slippers. Then he showed him where he couldwash his hands and face and brush his hair. While Dick was thusemployed, his host took his shoes and stockings down to the kitchen,and instructed the cook to start up the fire and dry them as soon aspossible. He returned to his room and found that Dick had made a greatimprovement in his personal appearance.
"Now we will go into the sitting room, and I will make you acquaintedwith my family," he said. "They are greatly exercised over the robbery,for the thieves made a clean sweep of this floor, and took all thejewelry and other personal belongings of value, including a much-prizedset of silverware which my wife inherited from her mother. The lossof the latter has made her quite ill, but when I tell her that we arelikely to recover all our property through the information furnishedby you, it will make her feel much better, and you will receive herthanks."
Mrs. Mason, her unmarried sister, and Miss Madge were seated in a bunchin the sitting room, looking very much dejected.
"Let me make you acquainted with Richard Darling, of New York," saidMr. Mason.
Dick bowed and the ladies acknowledged the introduction in a solemnway, expressive of the state of their feelings.
"You will be glad to learn that this young man has brought us a clueto the rascals who robbed the house, and the constables have gone offquite confident of capturing them and recovering our property," saidthe gentleman.
His words produced a considerable change in the ladies.
"Do you really think, John, that they will be caught, and that we shallget our things back?" asked his wife.
"I have strong hopes for it, for this lad's story confirms William'sstatement that Samuel Parker is one of the men. According to hisaccount, the two rascals went over to Parker's house, where theyproposed to hide the plunder in a dry well on his grounds until itcould be safely taken away and disposed of."
Mr. Mason asked Dick to tell his story to the ladies, and he did so.They expressed their astonishment that circumstances should havebrought him into the business, and declared that he was a fine, pluckyboy. They said they were sorry that his mother and sisters wouldnecessarily be worried about him, but he was sure to get home early inthe morning, probably about half-past two, and then their anxiety wouldbe allayed.
"In the meanwhile we will try and make your short stay with us aspleasant as possible," said Mr. Mason, "and I assure you that you areentitled to our grateful appreciation. We won't forget what we oweyou for the clue you have furnished us, even if those rascals are notcaught as soon as we expect. And now as you have missed your dinner, Iwill see that a meal is prepared for you at once."
The gentleman left the room and the ladies continued conversing withDick. He was such a nice, polite boy, and gentle in his ways, aslads brought up in a family of girls usually are, that they took agreat fancy to him. After a while Mr. Mason returned and told him toaccompany him downstairs. Dick found a nice meal waiting for him, andas he was very hungry, he did full justice to it. While he was eating,the constables returned, bringing their prisoners with them and alsothe stolen goods. The ladies were pleased to death to learn that theirproperty had been recovered and, of course, gave all the credit forit to Dick. After the office boy had finished eating he was takenoutside to identify the rascals, which he did. The servant William alsorecognized them as the thieves. Bulger favored Dick with an unpleasantlook and told him he hoped to get even with him some day.
The rascals were then put in a wagon and carried to the lock-up of thenear-by village to be removed next morning to Carlin. Mr. Mason had hisauto brought out of the garage.
"I am ready to take you to the station at Carlin," he said.
Dick was quite ready to go with him. He bade the ladies and Miss Madge,who had taken a decided liking to him, good-night, and he and his hostwere presently en route for that town, which they reached in ample timefor Dick to connect with the midnight express. Thirty minutes laterhe reached Jersey City, crossed the river and took an elevated trainfor Harlem. He reached the flat where the family lived a few minutesbefore two and found his mother and sisters all up and in a great stewabout him. He explained everything to them, and then the family retiredto make the most of the few hours before morning called them to ariseas usual, for the girls all worked in offices downtown and had to getaway about eight o'clock. Dick reached the store on time next morning,in spite of the fact that his usual hours of sleep had been curtailed,and he turned the change of the $5 bill over to the cashier; alsothe receipt Mr. Goodrich had signed for the package. The office boyattended to his duties until Mr. Bacon appeared about ten o'clock, whenhe followed him into his office.
"You delivered the package to Mr. Goodrich all right, I suppose?" saidhis employer.
"Yes, sir. I handed the receipt to the cashier."
Then Dick surprised Mr. Bacon with the story of his adventures with thetwo thieves in New Jersey.
"You didn't have much sleep," said Mr. Bacon. "If you feel tired thisafternoon you can go home at four o'clock."
"Thank you, sir, but I don't think that will be necessary. I'll haveplenty of time to make up my lost rest by going to bed directly aftersupper. Mr. Mason told me that I will be required to appear in courtat Carlin this afternoon when the men are brought up before themagistrate. He told me I should take the half-past twelve train down,and that he would meet me at the station. Can I go?"
"Certainly. I have no right to prevent you giving your testimony incourt."
That ended the interview. Dick went to Carlin that afternoon, was takento the court by Mason, and identified the men as the two thieves,telling his story in a straightforward way. The rascals were held fortrial. Dick returned to New York by an express, reaching Jersey City athalf-past five, and within an hour got home, just in time to sit downto supper.
CHAPTER IV.--The Missing Diamond.
Although Mr. Bacon was a wholesale dealer, he also did a considerableretail trade as well. On the following morning a well-dressed man cameinto the store and asked to see some fine diamonds. The clerk whowaited on him showed him a tray full of choice gems from two caratsup to five. The customer looked them over carefully, made severalselections, but the price was always too high for him to pay. Hetried to get the clerk to reduce the figure, but that was out of thequestion, as Mr. Bacon had but one price for his goods. Finally the mansaid that he would have to go elsewhere. As he started to leave thesharp-eyed clerk noticed that a five-carat stone was missing from thetray.
"One minute, sir," said the clerk. "You forgot to return one of thediamonds you were looking at."
"I did? Nonsense! Do you take me for a thief? I only handled one ofthem at a time and after looking it over laid it down on the showcase,or on that mat."
"Nevertheless, one of the diamonds is missing," said the clerk, pushinga button under the counter which summoned the manager of the store.The customer waxed indignant and protested that he had no knowledgewhatever of the diamond. The clerk insisted that he must have it.
"Well, then, you can search me, but I think it's an outrage," said theman.
The manager took him into his office and went through all his pockets,and looked him over for a secret pocket, but there was none and thediamond was not found on him.
"You see, I haven't got it," said the man. "Your clerk's eyesight isdefective. I don't believe there is a diamond missing at all from thetray. He only thought there was."
Under the circumstances the customer was permitted to leave the store,though the manager was pretty well satisfied that the clerk had madeno mistake. Dick had seen the man examining the diamonds, but hadnoticed no suspicious movement on his part to get away with a gem. Inhis opinion the man had been wrongfully accused. Once he had seen theman put his left hand under the outside ledge of the showcase at thebottom and hold it there for a moment, but he thought nothing of
that.At any rate, he knew there was no place there where a diamond could belodged even temporarily. The clerk looked over the floor on the outsideof the counter, but without result, so he felt sure that the customerhad managed to get away with it somehow. In about half an hour a ladyentered the store and went to the same counter. She wanted to look atsome new style rings. While the clerk was producing a couple of trays,Dick, who was close by, saw her place her hand under the bottom ledgeof the showcase and run it along there about a foot, an action theoffice boy thought strange. When she removed her hand she fumbled forher pocket. A moment or two later she was looking at the rings theclerk placed before her. At that juncture the manager called Dick andsent him down the block with a message. As he was coming back he sawthe man who had been suspected of taking the diamond standing near thecurb about a hundred yards from the store. He seemed to be waiting forsome one.
Down the street came the lady whom Dick had left examining the rings.She went directly up to the man and handed him something. Dick sawhim hold the article up and pick at it. In another moment he tossedsomething away and put his finger and thumb into his vest pocket, thenthe couple walked away. The meeting of these two persons struck Dick ashaving a suspicious bearing on the missing diamond, though just whatthe connection was he could not say. He looked at the place where hehad seen the man toss what the woman had handed him and saw a small,dark object. He went and picked it up. It proved to be a wad of chewinggum. Dick was disappointed with his discovery and was about to drop itwhen he noticed a deep impression in it that looked like the imprint ofa diamond.
Then the truth came to his bright mind like a flash of inspiration. Themissing diamond had been stuck in the gum. Still that didn't explainto his mind how the diamond had got there, or how the lady who hadbeen in the store half an hour after the man had come in possessionof the diamond. The matter puzzled him greatly, but of one thing hewas confident, and that was that the missing diamond was now in theman's pocket. Under such circumstances he believed that it was his dutyto follow the pair. The couple turned into Nassau street and walkedleisurely northward. Dick kept on behind them in a rather doubtfulframe of mind. They kept straight on, passing the Tribune Building andthe other newspaper offices of the Row, and so on under the BrooklynBridge entrance to the corner of North William, a narrow and shortstreet that cuts into Park Row at that point. They crossed the head ofthis street and walked into a well-known pawnshop that stood there.
"I'll bet the man is going to pawn that diamond," thought Dick. "Well,I'm going to see if he is."
He immediately followed them into the public room. He found themstanding before the long counter. A clerk came up to them.
"How much will you advance me for a month on that diamond?" asked theman, taking the unset stone out of his pocket and laying it down on thecounter.
The size of the diamond corresponded with the missing one, and on thespur of the moment Dick glided to the counter and grabbed it before theclerk's fingers touched it.
"I don't think this shop will advance you a dollar on a stolendiamond," he said, stepping back defiantly, ready to maintain hisemployer's claim to the stone.
The woman gave a stifled exclamation and looked frightened.
"Give me that diamond!" cried the man.
"No, sir. Will you send for a policeman to settle this matter?" saidDick to the clerk.
"Do you want me to send for an officer?" the clerk asked the man.
"No; I can settle my own business without a cop butting into it,"replied the man savagely.
"Call an officer for me, then," said Dick. "I accuse this man ofstealing the diamond he asked you to fix a price on."
"How dare you call me a thief!" roared the man.
"Because that's what you are," answered Dick defiantly.
Customers coming into the pawnshop stopped to see what was going on. Asthe case stood, all the advantage lay with Dick, for he had the articlein dispute, and possession is nine points of the law. As the racket washighly undesirable in the pawnshop, the clerk decided to telephone fora policeman to come and straighten things out, since neither Dick northe man showed any signs of giving in. The man himself realized thatthings were growing desperate. The lady said something to him in a lowtone, but he shook his head impatiently. Evidently somebody had told apoliceman of the case, for just at this time an officer appeared.
CHAPTER V.--Dick Carries His Point.
"Well, what's the trouble here?" asked the officer.
"The trouble is that man stole a five-carat unset diamond from ourstore and came here to pawn it. I followed him and got it away fromhim. I expect the manager of the store here any moment so I want thatman 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 faras he knew them. The chief clerk told the officer all that had happenedfrom 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 tobe shown some diamonds. A tray of the stones had been submitted tohis inspection under the eyes of the salesman. He looked over quitea 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 henoticed that one of the diamonds was missing. The man finally submittedto a search in the manager's office, and the diamond not being found onhim, he was allowed to go.
"You see," said the accused, brightening up, "there is no evidenceagainst 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 thisclerk that you had not been in any store this morning. Isn't that afact?" 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'llhave to explain how you came to have the missing stone in yourpossession when you came here to pawn it."
"That stone belongs to the lady who was with me. It never came out ofyour 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 tothe 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 ranaway. If it was her property, I should think she would have put up abig kick."
"Where is the store you claim to be connected with?" asked thepoliceman.
"It's at No. -- John street. Mr. Roger Bacon is the proprietor."
At that moment the manager of the store entered with the diamondsalesman. Both of them immediately identified the accused as the manwho had visited the store an hour or more since, and the managercorroborated all that Dick had already told about the circumstances ofthe case. r />
"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 seeit," said the manager.
The officer handed the five-carat stone to him. He looked it over andhanded 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 allunset 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 makehimself familiar with the looks and quality of all diamonds he hadcharge of.
"Well, this may or may not be the stone you assert is missing fromyour stock," said the policeman; "but as long as you can't show thatthis man took it, I don't see how I can run him in without a regularwarrant."