The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-04-02
A GIFT OF
EASTER EVE
BY EVEN M,pHERsoN


St Clair in a suburb of Detroit. Cranborne
described himself as "a copper man. he
was, in fact, a young mining engineer,
whose business was in the regions of north
ern Michigan, where copper is plentiful.
OF the other three men, one was a man
with a heavy blonde moustache This dis
notwithstanding person also had ugly
bags under his eyes that told of over-fast
living. He was accustomed to describe
himself as mere driftwood," but he also
said that in times past he had been an Of
fieer in the British army in India. His
dress was now marked by an absence of
care for appearance which certainly had
nothing in 1t suggestive of the British
army's reputation for "smartness."
But IA strong contrast to the shabby Nor
folk jacket and the mean-looking felt tow
cling hat which this "drftwood wore, was
one piece OF Jewelry that flashed in the late
sunlight as he lifted tall thin-stemmed
glass To lips.
ms piece Of Jewelry was, at first sight,
an amazing combinat Ion OF white and green
Spectators; ON ctoser examination, II proved
To De an uncommonly large emerald set in
the center OF Il great cluster OF diamonds
on ring which the "drituwood'' wore on
ms right fourth hnger. Inc whole outer
$ dc oil the ring rose axe the dome of a pa
eoaa, or, TO Use more home grown slmIIe
ike the smaller half OF an egg; and at the
apex OF this dome-or egg-the emerald was
set deeply H. as if pushed heavily down
into d bed of diamonds
one thing that was evident to almost
any one who examined the ring closely
was that the diamonds in it were not set
III any fashion known to either American
Il.
speek of metal visible in the intertrices be-
tween the brilliants, only dark spaces. as
IL each tiny diamond We're held by a rivet
under II. And above ALL the Whole ring
flashed with a glitter of white and green
that strongly suggested the gorgeousness
OF Asia, and ali the more strongly because
of its being on the finger of the shabbily
dressed "driftwood."
Cranborne could hardly keep his eyes off
the Jewels. As a mineralogist, he naturally
was interested In unusual specimens of pre-
cious stones; as a youth of strongly deVel-
oped artistic tastes, the rare perfection of
color in the great emerald fascinated him.
Il am hating here" said the drift
wood whose name on the hotel register
was Fielding, Il am hating here, like Is
rael OF old, between two opinions. Before
me is the queens dominion of Canada-and
shabbness-at my back is the United
. States of America-and the possibility of
prosperity, IL that possibility eAlSIS any
where for me. One beckons me across the
lake to Canada, the other is drawing mo
into the great vortex of the United States
Which is it to be? Canada and shabbiness,
or the United States, wealth and cock
tails?"
las for shabbiness," Cranborne slowly
drawled, q don't see how anybody can
help looking shabby with that ring on his
finger, Fielding. The magnifcence of it Is
enough to make Solomon in all his glory
look shabby"
well, now do you know" said Fielding,
looking at the ring, there is a deep inner
meaning to that remark of yours, young
man. l believe that this blessed Burmese
jewel has kept me shabby for years, and
will yet. In other words L suspect the
thing of being cursed"
Where did you pick it up?" asked a
gray-headed man of the party.
n didn't pick it up" answered Fielding,
quickly "a Tommy Atkins picked it up in
Burmah In SS, when and where didn't
ask him. though l suspect he got 1t where
he didn't ought / paid him hundred
rupees for it, which he expended 1 believe
on beer, and died incontnently. But ever
since then l have been on the decline, and
l attribute my present condition as piece
of drftwood to this brilliant object"
"And yet you won't part with it?' said
Cranborne "Thats human nature all
over"
Wont ], thought" said Fielding. II
would part with it tomorrow; but every
body seems afraid of it-or else afraid of
the price I ask for it,"
Twill you take thousand dollars for it?"
Cranborne asked, while the two older men
eyed him with shrewd interest.
"Will you pay it?' said Fielding, with a
start.
''If you hand it over to me now" the
young miner answered, 81 will give you
fifty dollars in notes and check a De-
troit bank for nine hundred and fifty"
Fielding set about pulling off his ring,
while Cranborne rang the bell and sent a
waiter for a blank check, giving the name
of his bank in Detroit
you're not afraid?" Fielding asked him
once more, as if he really felt scruples
about turning over the curse to this young
man.
mo, I'm not afraid" said Cranborne
Mining engineers are not given to SUI
perstitions" said the gray-beard who had
spoken before
81 have plenty of superstition" said
Cranborne, "but like to try experiments.
I am going to play Christian superstition
against heathen-that's ALL
1t was no business of Fieldings. If this
young man from the northern mines chose
to ruin his prospects in this world and the
next by wearing that uncanny mass Of
splendor that had been taken by theft out
of some dark mango-shaded shrine Of
idolatry, 1t was nothing to him. He had
candidly told the true story of the ring.
Now he was in possession of a good, SUBJ
stantial thousand American dollars, and his
mind made up for "the United States, pros
perity and cocktails"
He, however, as well as the two elderly
Michiganders who were present at this
transaction, noticed that Cranborne did not
put on the ring.
"Oh, I have no intention of wearing it,"
said the young miner, laughing. ut won't
flash in the sunlight for eight months
more. Then 1 shall try my experiment"
Back went Cranborne to the northern
hills of Michigan, where they smelt cop
per, and where he stayed all through the
fall and winter that followed.
And then in the early spring of the fol-
lowing year, the same Cranborne alighted
from a train that pulled into big depot
in Kentucky city. 1t was a Saturday
night, already after 10 o'clock. Cranborne
flung his valise into hack, and, instead
of going to hotel, directed the driver to
a private residence some distance out in
the suburbs of the city.
The house was in darkness when the
bool, draxu III, hafora IFS front gate. hut