San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-07-14

was not. a orevice through which it corlt
reach me
"What are all those Ihiugsi" askec
flirting my head toward me l3lg tabl,
on which lay the articles have reforrsC
to.
81 do not choose to answer that ones
ton. "
was listening intertly. for j knee,
that the East Indian was still in tie hal
outside and heard every word tina
passed. spoke in clear, Gelitsrat,
tone, for ] was talking to him as mucl
as to her.
1T makes no difference car looL
at them some other time. This room
seems to be sort of workshop for yor
or your husband, or both.
She made no answer to tbia out fold
ing those beautiful arms, with the tiny
points Of one shoe showing, calmly con
fronted me.
II have admitted that neither yor
nor your husband was in New York or
the night that Mana Sahib's ruby disap
peared, so that, no matter what takes
place, the crime can be brought directly
home to neither unless the thief you
employed should turn states evidence
If you understand that"
She nodded her head.
Before giving any explanation please
wait until ask for it.
1T shall be as you say. Do you know
anything about the robbery of the ruby?"
For the first time since we had ad-
dressed each other her lips parted with
that dangerously fascinating smile.
Eyes; I know all about it.
"Will you tell met"
''It is your business to learn such
things Why do you come to me?'
Because it is beyond my skill. /
can't comprehend how that stone was
taken from the room in the Windsor
hotel.
"Of course you can't" she said, with
a still more marked smile, because
you Americans are stupid. You must
come to India to learn wisdom.
will you become my instructor"
mo; must have pupil with a
mind that will understand the simple
truths that are plain to a child"
when the pupil is stupid, then the
teacher should be patient and try to
make things clear to him..
But when he is too stupid to under
stand it is waste of time"
"You have not tried me-"
Because you cannot comprehend. l
know it by your looks.
II am said to bear a close resemblance
to your husband.
"Bismallah, what ISLANDERS are heaped
upon his headp' she exclaimed, with
such tragic air that laughed.
1T may be a SANDER, l said, upon
him or against me, but it ought to make
you willing to try my ability to grasp
those simple truths. l thought that per-
haps the owner of the ruby rose in his
sleep and removed it to some place
which he forgot.
mo; it was simpler than that. "
why not tell me at once?' asked,
more impatient than l ought to have
been.
The one thing which troubled me
more than all others was the odor that
had noticed and which steadily grew
more pronounced. 1t was nauseating,
though could see no evidence that it
troubled her in the least.
To raise the window would have to
cross the floor, and unless did it by
backing would give the man in the hall
Just the chance for which he was wait
ing There was no saying what she
would do in the meantime. Altogether
the risk was more than ought to as
sumo. 1 grimly resolved to sit it out
until she would be compelled to seek
relief Why should frail, delicate wo-
man be able to take more poison into
her lungs than a strong man like my
self? 1t ought to be the other way.
She made no answer to my last ques
ton, and added:
81 do not doubt that the secret rests
with you, and if you choose you can ex-
plain that which is inexplainable to the
rest of us Now, will give you my
DlCuk6 IL yOu WIZ VOL ehO "hOiO
truth neither you nor your husband
shall be molested or prosecuted in any
way"
"And of what value is such a guar
antee to us if you had the power to give
it? What protection do we wish? What
have we done that we should fear your
laws?"
Sure enough, since neither had stolen
the ruby, what crime could be imputed
to them? The man had sold an immense
ly valuable gem to John r. Brown, the
jeweler of Maiden lane, for much less
than its worth. 1t would not have been
a crime had he parted with it for 80
cents instead of $50, 900.
He claimed to have found it in the
Himalayan jungles, whittier it had been
carried by the perfdious Mana Sahib. /
believed this; but, if it was not true,
with what offense should charge Dari-
us Howard?
All the same there was no doubt that