Oliver Bristow (From a Fistful of Diamonds)

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Mr. Binford told me what that Smith fella said about my not being too knowledgeable about diamond fields, but I'll have you know I graduated fourteenth in my class at the mining engineering college I attended in West Virginia. Of course there, the main focus was on coal mining, but we was book taught about other minerals and ores and such, and I spent a week in Pike County, Arkansas which is home to the only diamond mine in this country. I also read up on the diamond fields in Africa before I set out with Mr. Binford and them two fellas who claimed to have a diamond field.. So I know about as much about what a diamond field might look like as any mining engineer in the country.

If you ask me, Mr. Binford ain't cut out to be no speculator, probably ain't even cut out to be a banker; and what that lovely Miss Jamison sees in him likely ain't nothing more than dollar signs. Poor girl, pretty as could be, but about as bright as an oil lamp that's minus a wick.

I had my doubts about that being a legitimate diamond field when I first laid eyes on it cause I only knew of the one place in Arkansas where diamonds were mined, and it seemed a little odd that another field just turned up outta the blue. Still, I kept thinking that's exactly how the gold rush started in California when them sparkly flecks was spotted in Sutter's Creek. If it could happen with gold, why not with diamonds?

So when I heard Mr. Binford was gonna buy that field from them two fellas, and that he planned to sell stock investments, well I did give that some consideration. But I'm a practical man, not a risk taker, and as it turned out, I'm glad I didn't decide to up and throw caution to the wind.

Now I'm not a man that goes buttin' into another man's business, but a few days after I got back home, there was a big front page article in the Sheridan Newspaper about August Binford being arrested for stealing money from his own bank. The article didn't mention Miss Jamison by name, but did refer to a female acquaintance of Mr. Binford being instrumental with providing information that led to the arrest. According to the article, Mr. Binford stole money from his own bank to buy that diamond field, but that couldn't be verified cause the two men who claimed to be the owners of that field had up and disappeared. Now honestly, if you owned a field that was sprouting diamonds right outta the ground, wouldn't you keep that field guarded night and day? Just the fact that they up and disappeared told me something wasn't right with that whole situation.

Now I don't know it for a fact, but I think them two fellas weren't diamond miners at all. I've since heard some speculation that they might have been Federal Treasury Agents, and that makes more sense to me cause to tell you the truth, their light didn't burn much brighter than Miss Jamison's. The reason I say that is because on our way to that mine, they stopped and blindfolded us so we wouldn't know the exact location of that field till after their deal with Binford was settled. But going back to town, they didn't blindfold us, so all three of us knew just how to get to that field. Now don't that sound like government agents to you?

Anyway, Binford has got himself in quite a legal mess now, so I'm guessing that pretty little Miss Jamison is setting her sights on some new prospect now, and I'm thinking I could be just the gravy train she's looking for. Intellect ain't high on my list of qualifications for a female companion, and she fits that bill to a tee. So I'm thinking of maybe making a trip back to Kingsburg for that trial and maybe wooing that pretty little lady myself. All I gotta do is make her think I'm a man of money, and I've certainly got the looks and the charm to pull that off, don't you think?

Of course, there is the remote possibility that my light don't burn too bright either.