A Dash from Diamond City | Page 4

thinking, and it's interesting. Hah! I was right."
He stood rubbing his hands together in his childish enjoyment, while one of the searchers carefully passed his hands all over the black's head, but found no small diamonds tangled up amongst the curly little knots of hair.
"Well, I did think he'd got some there," continued Anson.--"Oh, of course! One might have guessed it before."
This was upon the black's head being forced back a trifle, while a pinch of snuff was blown through a pea-shooter right into the prisoner's nose, making him sneeze violently.
But still no diamonds made their appearance, and after a little further search the man was set at liberty, giving place to another supposed culprit.
This man came up smiling and confident, opening his mouth wide, to display its state of innocency and a magnificent set of teeth at the same time.
"Take care! he bites," said Ingleborough banteringly; and Anson, who had pressed to the front, started back in horror, to be greeted with a burst of laughter.
"How fond you are of a joke!" he cried, smoothing his face.
At the same moment one of the searchers sent a puff of snuff in the black's face, with the result that he was seized with a violent burst of coughing and sneezing.
"Two--three--four!" cried Anson excitedly, and, springing forward, he picked up three of the diamonds ejected by the black, who, after a little further search, yielded up a couple of very small stones from one ear, and was marched off for punishment.
"I do like this!" said Anson, rubbing his hands together. "What brutes of thieves they are!"
"Yes, you ought to take to searching," said West, smiling. "You'd make a capital detective."
"Think so?" said the young man, growing serious directly. "You're not chaffing me, are you?"
"Chaffing? Not at all! I mean it," replied West.
"Well, do you know," said Anson, in a confidential way, "I don't think I should make a bad one. I know I should like it better than the work I do now. But look what a big strong fellow this one is. I wonder whether he has any."
"Half-a-dozen, I daresay," said West, looking curiously at another stalwart black, who came forward slowly and unwillingly to take the place of the second man, set aside for punishment.
"N-n-no," said Anson thoughtfully. "I don't think this one has any."
"Why?" asked West.
"I can't say," replied Anson dreamily. "I only know that I don't think he has any." And, as it happened, the most rigid examination failed to discover any of the gems. But, all the same, the culprit was set aside for punishment, two of the watchers present at the examination declaring that they had seen him put his hand to his mouth and swallow something.
The next man, upon being summoned to the stool, came up boldly and displayed a child-like eagerness to prove his innocence, opening his mouth widely and passing his fore-fingers round between gums and cheeks, thrusting his little fingers into his ears, and then bending down and going through the motion of one washing his head.
But he did not wash any gems out of his shock of little nubbly curls.
"No got no dymons, boss," he cried. "Me go now, boss?"
"No," said the chief searcher sharply. "Clap that foot of yours upon the stool."
The black stared at him hard and shook his head.
"Do you hear?" cried the searcher. "Clap that right foot upon the stool."
The black stared at him vacantly, shook his head again, and turned to the second searcher, who translated the order into the man's own tongue.
At this the black smiled and nodded. Then, turning to the chief searcher, he placed his bare left foot upon the stool.
"No, no: the other," cried the stern official, pointing to the right foot, and the order was emphasised by his assistant.
Once more the black looked intelligent, placed both his feet upon the ground, changed them several times by shuffling them about, and once more placed his left foot upon the stool.
Anson chuckled with delight, and turned to West.
But this act on the part of the black was too much for the chief searcher's composure.
"Up with the black scoundrel's foot!" he roared, and his assistant seized the black's ankle, and gave it such a vigorous hoist that the man's equilibrium was upset, so that, though the foot was planted firmly on the stool, he fell over backwards, leaving his support upon the stool, where it was probed by the searchers, who were not at all surprised to find a large stone hidden between the little and the next toe.
"There's a blackguard!" cried Anson excitedly, turning to his companions. "He ought to be well flogged, and no mistake. Well, I never!"
The last words were uttered in disgust at the man's behaviour, for he burst into a hearty laugh as if thoroughly enjoying the discovery, professing