134 BREAKING A BIRD DOG 
little loose-leaf house organ called The Bet¬ 
ter Way which is remarkable for its splen¬ 
didly put conclusions. It is written by 
Maxwell I. Pitkin, whose command of Eng¬ 
lish is second only to his power of expression 
and art for writing. The following is 
quoted from the issue of February io, 1923: 
One day in late December a wealthy banker en¬ 
tered a fashionable jewelry shop on Fifth Avenue, 
and went directly to the diamond counter. 
The clerk in charge, at his request, brought out a 
large tray of unset stones, and proceeded to recount 
the carat, value and history of each jewel. 
Presently the banker’s interest centered on a large 
blue-white Jaeger, exquisitely cut and gleaming like 
a spark of fire. But the price seemed prohibitive, 
and, though the clerk labored faithfully enough to 
make the sale, the banker was about to turn away. 
Just then he came along—the man who employed 
the clerk—and asked for a word in the conversation. 
He, too, talked diamonds—that was all. But he 
did it—well, reverently. He held the stone to the 
light, that the banker might look far into its crystal 
depths. He shadowed it in his palm, revealing new 
flashes of blue and red and green. He told the 
regal story of its travels and adventures. He talked 
of diamonds as he knew them. 
