CHAPTER IX.
MAYNARD’S FOLLY.But past experiences did not prove of any advantage to Maynard, who still kept the diamonds in his possession, greatly to the surprise of his chum, Henry Townsend.
“Do you mean that you have with you over half a million dollars in diamonds—here on the Bowery at midnight?” asked Townsend, one night as they sat in a popular café in the Bowery.
“That is the situation.”
“I had an idea that the gems you were handling so carelessly were paste.”
“Not a bit of it. They are the real thing.”
“Your entire collection?”
“The same.”
“Then you are running a fearful risk, especially when the nature of our visit to this part of the city is considered. How many members of the dramatic club know that you are carrying the diamonds in your pocket to-night?”
“All of them, I
