
When a plain, yellow‑wrapped parcel arrives on his desk, the head of a Fifth Avenue jewelry firm discovers a flawless six‑carat diamond that seems to glow with its own inner light. The stone’s perfection is astonishing, far surpassing anything in his company's vaults, and its anonymous delivery immediately raises questions. Intrigued and uneasy, Harry Latham begins to wonder who could have sent such a treasure without a single clue.
He sifts through the stack of routine business letters, hoping to find a hidden instruction, but the correspondence offers only the usual notices of shipments from South Africa. With the help of his meticulous secretary and a nervous assistant, Latham keeps the priceless gem concealed in a desk pigeonhole while he pieces together the mystery. As the day unfolds, the silent allure of the diamond draws him into a web of secrecy that threatens to upend his orderly world.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (157K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2005-02-04
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1875–1912
Best remembered for creating the brilliant logician Professor Van Dusen, this American mystery writer helped shape the early detective story before his life was cut short in the Titanic disaster of April 15, 1912.
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