Adventure Magazine Cover, February 3, 1921 — page 116: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

IIlO young Griffin is a friend of mine. want to hear of his being arrested for I. D. B.” “You won’t squeal, will you, Major?” “No. You're safe as far as I’m concerned: Ta ta!’ Next morning the Major dropped in at Kafir Smith’s place before applying for his mining-permit at the registration office. Aggie was talking to some men at the other end of the bar, but when she saw him, she hurried over. Her face was wreathed in smiles and she hummed a gay little tune. “Youre happy, Miss Harris?” “I’m going home, Major, I’m going home. Smith sent me a check this morning by the first mail. D’ve already booked my passage and I’m leaving for Cape Town on «the night train.”’ “Congratulations, ’m sure, and the best of luck.” “Major.” Aggie’s veice dropped to a whisper. “You've always treated.me as if I were a lady, and I’m going to do a thing for you that T’ve never done before. I’m going to squeal on the boys. Listen; you know Cockney Hawkins?” The Major nodded. “Well it seems that he and his bunch have got it in for you. When you were away from your tent last night, they hid some diamonds in your baggage, and one of them followed you and your boy to Griffin’s mine, though what you should want there only knows. Hawkins went up to the police office this morning and said that he had seen you and the black go to the mine and afterward bury some diamonds in your tent. He said that he turned queen’s evi- dence because you hadn’t split fair with him on some other deal. They captured your boy down at one of the compounds about an hour ago, and two of the police have taken him to your camp.” This news staggered the Major. He knew that it would be hopeless to try to face the thing out. His reputation would not stand for it. But it was hard that the blow should come just at the time when he had determined to run straight with the Government. “You'd better run for it, old dear,” Aggie whispered softly. “Come ‘back to England with me. I’ve got enough money to buy that pub I was speaking of the other day, and He took her hand and pressed it. I don’t Adventure “Vou’re a brick, old dear, but I can’t do it, really. I must look after my man. Have you some paper and string? I want to wrap up a little present. Oh, yes, and some writing-paper too.” Aggie brought him the things he asked for and the Major swiftly wrote a short note. Then taking’ from his pocket the diamond on which he had pasted his photo, he wrapped it up, enclosing with it the letter he had written. The package he addressed to the chief of the police. “Mail this for me, old dear, will you? I’ve no time to spare.’ “All right. luck.” Lear and the best of THE rest is better told by extracts P7 a> from The Diamond, the weekly BY newspaper of the township. The first is headed “A Big Find at the Griffin Mine,” and runs, in part: “Mr. Griffn’s eye was caught by the gleam of a brilliant object midway up the bank of one of his excavations. Climbing up to it, he discovered it was a brilliant crystal. Digging it out, his first thought was that some practical joker had planted a large chunk of glass there for him to find, for it was so large he knew it could not be a diamond. Determined to test the stone on the spot, Griffin rubbed the dirt from one of its faces and soon convinced himself that it was not a lump of glass but a diamond crystal of exceptional whiteness and purity. “Taking it to the office of the registrar, where it was properly cleaned, Mr. Griffin found to his happy astonishment that it weighed all of three thousand carats; more than three times that of any other diamond that has been discovered. The diamond is a fragment, probably less than half, of a distorted octahedral crystal. Who will be the fortunate miner to discover the other portion? “Mr. Griffin has sold his mine to a syndi- cate headed by Kafir Smith, and will sail with his beautiful wife for England some time this week.” Another extract is headed: “The Major Misses a Fortune, but Gets Away.” “Word having been brought to a member of our efficient police force that a certain notorious I. D. B., commonly called the Major, was seen leaving with his native servant the Griffin mine, steps were at S f . CORIICGLOO© (C@