Page:Raymond Spears--Diamond Tolls.djvu/10

 Goles soon proved his instinct by bringing in a definite pearl trade from western rivers, and within fifteen years he had established himself as salesman for Ofsten & Groner. He was, perhaps, the most inconspicuous man imaginable. It was said of him that people could look at him and not know that he was present! His voice was a monotone, his face a blank, his gait a glide, and his habit complete silence.

Yet his very self-abnegation served but to impress upon customers the gems and jewels he desired to sell. He never distracted a customer from the beauty of a bit of work in platinum or gold; he gave a buyer the feeling of being entirely alone with a tray of diamonds, to make his selection; there was in him not the least trace or hint of the strong-arm method of salesmanship—so he sold specially beautiful gems with extraordinary success to collectors and to the trade.

It was a year of belated prosperity down the Ohio Valley. All summer the jewellers had been waiting for some sign which would help them decide how much Christmas goods to take on. Also, they had waited before buying jewels which are in demand when crops are bountiful, when, especially, the patrons of the local bucket shops and stock-exchange brokers have teen making money, and when tradesmen see big trade in hand.

Now they knew that money was plentiful down