The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-27


enemy I'd leave the service first
OF course the deputy commissioner
had TO report it to the commissioner
ard he to the chief commissioner.
The report read: THAT the sacred
! 'Beda, the famous ruby, had been
stolen from the forehead of the image
of Buddha, in the pagoda, there, by a
I hill man, Hpo Thit. Hpo Thit had been
! captured, and the ruby traced to the
possession of the superintendent of po-
lice. Mr.. VALENTINE. That it appeared
from Hpo Thit's evidence that he had
/ fired il from a musket into the super
intendent's body, but as to whether
Hpo Thit's evidence could be accepted,
and the superintendent held to be in
innocent possession of the stolen goods
or not, or. whether he should be ar
rested as a receiver of stolen goods, he
was not prepared to say. That must
rest with the higher authorities to de-
! eide. He suggested that ii might be
better to refer it to the judicial COM
/ missioner
Valentyne in the meantime had to be
guarded at the hospital. for Mi Mira
discovered that the Phoongyes had set
a scheme on foot to kidnap him. and,
incidentally, carve him up to find the
sacred stone.
There were many reasons why they
should recover il as soon as possible.
Their Buddha had lost all prestige since
his maltreatment, and no pilgrims came
now to lay their generous offerings at
his great square feet. The pagoda had
ceased to do a paying business, for W.
zana's ruby had been drawing card.
1t had been good investment that for
II centuries had gone on making money
for the priests.
VALENTINE applied for and obtained
sick leave. handicapped with an order
that he must not take the ruby out of
the Jurisdiction of the Burmese courts.
1t was a. splendid bit of judicial rul-
ing that and the deputy commissioner
smiled grimly when it passed through
his hands.
when he heard about it, for he had or
dered VALENTINE off to Darieeling for a
change. You can't stop here" he said
because if you don't die of fever.
they'll murder you, sure. By Jovei
Your body will be worth something for
dissecting purposes. though, if they
don't get the first slash at you
But VALENTINE steadily improved. The
wound was healing up nicely, the ruby
seemingly giving him no trouble what
ever.
AS soon as he was able to sit up and
move about he discovered a new source
of annoyance. Devout Burmans were
constantly coming and prostrating
themselves at his feet. touching their
foreheads to the ground and muttering
their prayers.
What does it all mean?" he asked
Moung Ouray.
"Sar they are worshiping the 'Beda,'
which you. by the grace of God and
that wicked Hpo Thit. have got
This is intolerable," thought Valen-
tyne. Il am a ruby mine, and a Bur-
mese god, and a receiver of stolen
goods, all in ONE
AS he got better the beauty of his
new life was further enhanced by the
deluge of official correspondence that
commenced to pour in upon him.
By order of the chief commissioner
he was asked to explain how he meant
to make good to the pagOda the value
of the ruby he was still retaining on his
person. 1t was cheerfully pointed out
that if half his salary was escheated
for this purpose it would take at least
40 years to make up the value of the
jewel.
A delay of this sort would hardly be
fair to the Phoongyes; besides, in that
uncertain climate, his salary might
cease at any moment. At any rate, I'M
der the SO years Service rule he could
not retain his position in the service for
that length of time, and his pension
would be barely enough to live upon.
The civil surgeon was raked over the
Goals for not acting upon the deputy
commissioners suggestion and probing
the matter to the bottom, as it were
for not making another effort to re-
cover the jewel.
1t was in vain that he wrote in an
swer that the superintendent life
would have been endangered by an
other operation.
His answer only brought another lit
erary wigging, in which he was CURLY
reminded that the British government
expected its officials to do their duty,
irrespective of personal feeling or con-
siderations of personal safety.
Hang them for a lot of bloodthirsty
swine exclaimed Corbyn, for that was
the surgeons name; they mean to