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Chapter eight

A River Saves the Day!

Prince Florizel and Mr Rolles were almost at Mr Rolles’s hotel.

‘I’m ruined,’ cried Mr Rolles, ‘please help me. I’m no good as a priest, and even worse as a thief!’

‘Try to forget what happened. Go to Australia and buy a farm,’ said the prince.

‘Oh, but how do I know that diamond isn’t ruining someone else,’ cried Mr Rolles.

‘To show you that I believe you really are sorry, I’m going to tell you a secret. I have the Rajah’s Diamond. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t get anyone into trouble ever again,’ said Prince Florizel.

‘Oh, thank you for believing me,’ said Mr Rolles.

‘Well, here we are at your hotel. Go inside and forget all your troubles. Goodbye, and good luck in Australia,’ said the prince.

Prince Florizel turned around and started walking home. He was not sure about what he wanted to do with the diamond. Give it back to its owner, Sir Thomas Vandeleur? But Sir Thomas did not deserve it. Perhaps the only way was to get rid of the Rajah’s Diamond forever?

‘That diamond will always get its owner into trouble,’ thought the prince.

He took the case out of his pocket and opened it. There was the brilliant, perfect diamond.

‘If I look at it any longer, I’ll want to keep it,’ thought the prince. But he still was not sure about what to do. He approached his home; he always felt happier when he got nearer. He lived in an elegant mansion along the River Seine, with tall chimneys and a beautiful garden. His was the only home in Paris that had a stork on its roof, and this attracted many people.

Suddenly, as he was entering his home, a man came up to him.

‘Do I have the honour of speaking to Prince Florizel of Bohemia,’ asked the man.

‘Yes, but what do you want at this late hour,’ asked the prince.

‘I’m a detective, Your Highness. I’m here to ask you to come with me to the police station.’

‘But what for,’ asked the prince, surprised, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘John Vandeleur has accused you of stealing the Rajah’s Diamond, Your Highness,’ answered the detective.

‘I see. I can tell you that I haven’t stolen the diamond. Let me explain. Let’s walk to the police station together,’ said the prince, ‘I’m going to tell you the story of how Sir Thomas Vandeleur came to own the famous Rajah’s Diamond.’

‘I’m very curious to hear it,’ answered the detective.

‘Many years ago,’ began Prince Florizel, ‘Sir Thomas Vandeleur was a soldier in India. He was not a very good soldier and he wasn’t very popular. But Sir Thomas was very lucky. One day he met the Rajah of Kashgar who invited him to his palace. At the palace Sir Thomas saw the largest, most beautiful diamond he ever saw. He decided that he must have it. So he decided to stay in India and serve the Rajah, who was not an honest man. For three years, Sir Thomas did many bad things for the Rajah. He even betrayed his own soldiers in danger. Because of him, thousands of men were killed. In the end, Sir Thomas made the Rajah a very large fortune. To thank him, the Rajah finally gave him the diamond he wanted so badly–’

Prince Florizel continued his story. After a long walk, the detective found out all about how Sir Thomas Vandeleur, Mr Rolles, and Francis Scrymgeour each came to own the Rajah’s Diamond.

‘So you see, detective, you must agree with me. The Rajah’s Diamond has got everyone who has touched it into great trouble. That diamond may be extremely beautiful, but it has an evil power over people. It makes them greedy,’ said the prince.

The detective knew the prince was right.

‘The only people the diamond didn’t make greedy are Francis and I,’ added the prince, ‘I have the Rajah’s Diamond here in my pocket now. God forgive me if I am doing something wrong. But that diamond’s evil power must end tonight.’

With these words, the prince took the diamond out of his pocket. He looked at it one more time as it shone in the moonlight. Then suddenly without saying anything, he threw it into the Seine. It sparkled in the sky before falling into the river. Both men stared at the water in silence. The diamond was now gone.

‘And now, let’s go to the station at once. I’m sure you won’t be put in prison once the chief of police hears this story,’ said the detective.

Not long after this eventful night, Francis and Miss Vandeleur were married. The prince was happy to be Francis’s best man. The young couple started their life together and nobody ever talked about the Rajah’s Diamond again.

But there were two people who continued to look for the diamond. John and Thomas Vandeleur got news of what happened that night when the detective came to arrest Prince Florizel. They often took a boat out on the Seine to look for the diamond. But, because they had wrong information about the bridge where Prince Florizel was standing when he threw it in the Seine, they spent all their time looking in the wrong part of the river. People taking a walk along the river often stopped to watch men diving from their boat. They didn’t know why the Vandeleurs organized this diving operation, but it was entertaining to watch.

The Rajah’s Diamond stayed at the bottom of the river, where Prince Florizel threw it and where nobody could see it shining– and where it could do no harm to anybody any more.