Robert L. Fish 
Rough Diamond 

In the diamond fields of South Africa, a London boy makes a fortune On a Dutch plantation in South Africa, two bored children are throwing rocks when their mother calls them inside and notices that one of her sons is holding a glittering, uncut diamond. These two children do not know it, but they have changed the course of a continent forever. When word reaches Europe that there are diamonds in South Africa just waiting to be plucked from the ground, men and women of all nations race south to make their fortune. Among them is young Barney Isaacs, a brawling Jewish boy who has dreams of becoming a gentleman—but who will be lucky to escape with his life. When Barney joins his brother in the diamond fields of Kimberley, they find riches beyond their wildest dreams. But with wealth comes peril, and Barney soon finds that there are those who would kill for diamonds.