OCR Text |
Show A GENIUS OR A RASCAL 1 Honrl Lomolno, who la under arrest In Paris ton a chnrgo of swindling Sir JiiIIub Wornher, ono ot tho syndlcato that controls tho diamond output of South Africa, Is either a finished rascal or a wonderful genius, and tho scientific world Ib at a loss to decldo which. In vlow of tho peculiar pe-culiar circumstances under which tho money, como 105,000, wns extracted from Wornher, ono would set him down as a rank fraud, hut thero aro distinguished scientists who dcclnro that thoy have seen Lcmolno making diamonds, that thoy watched tho crucible from beginning to end of the operation, nnd that It was utterly Impossible for him to play a sharp gamo upon them, j Ono of tho mysteries which lend a pccullnr ill fascination to the enso Is a scaled packet in a safe, containing tho formula, a packet that Ib to bo opened only after Lemolno'a death. Then It Is to become, tho property of Sir Julius, who hns already paid $05,000 for It. If It Is a genuine formula nnd by its help Sir Julius can produce diamonds ad libitum, ho will bo ono of tho most powerful men In tho world, for ho will absolutely control tho futuro of South Africa. If ho chooses to turn out diamonds of tho artificial kind tho mines of South Africa will have to closo down, the Dccrs shares will fall to next to nothing and Sir Julius can pick them up at Ills own price. Ho will be tho diamond king of the world and will havo It In his power to mako them as cheap or as dear as ho likes. That ho had this In view when ho mado tho deal Is assorted by Lcmolno, Whatovor Wornher may havo belloved at first, ho- has llttlo faith In tho formula now, and ho Is seeking to have It oponed, predicting that only a plcco of blank pnpor will bo found, Thero Is something In this caso very closely rcBombllng tho Humbort affair In which a snfo said to contain millions fooled tho peoplo of Paris for a long time, and when It was opened it was found to contain a collar button and a fow othor trifles of tho kind. Thero la no othor way of disproving Wernhor's chargo than by opening tho packet. Lemolno Is 30 yenra old, with an aggressive black beard and sparkling oyes, Ho waa born In Trieste when his father was French consul thero. Ho lias served In tho army and travolcd all over Europo and in South Africa. |