Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-03-31
!. A VARII|I,,G TURQUOISE
When Trouble Threatened Its
Owner, 1t Turned Pale.
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=, =, 3; - 81, :, - :, !, =:
If it had not been that every other
bed in the hotel was occupied. | GER
tainly would not have consented to
share a double bcddcd room with n
stranger. AS it was, | found when we
reached city-a considerable city in
Indiana. if the readers curiosity
prompts him to ask about il that
big political convention WAS going on
there. and that was how | found my
self with Mr.. John Spears for Il room.
mate.
Not that there was anything in John
to which felt inclined to take cNccp-
ton: on the contrary. he struck 81" as
a very neat, prosperous locking ana
prcsCntablc specimen of the American
commercial Traveller. so much so that
congratulated myself that chanc" and
politics had not thrown me with any
one less pleasant.
Ry the time we both felt ready for
bed John and | had hccom" pretty
good friends. and really Thought he
must have told me all the stories. good,
bad and Indifferent. that inc had to tell,
but there | was mistaken.
He was making Il somewhat clabo-
rate toilet before retiring. that being.
as he told me, Indispensable to his get
course Of his ablutionS his arms were
left entirely bare. Then it was that
noticed his singular decoration.
Half way between the elbow and the
shoulder John wore a superb specimen
OF goldsmith'S work. 1t was Il brace
let, in fact. cXquiSitcly chiSclCd iii Per-
sian characters. very massive and con
tanning a turquoise which must have
measured. | suppose. two inches one
way and an inch and half the other.
lie noticed my aStoniShmcnt and
laughed.
You never saw Il drummer wearing
a gold bracelet hrforr:" he said NO;
it was not given to me by Il lady. If it
were not so late. I'd tell YOU all about
it."
There was no denying that the hour
was father late to begin another of
his stories so we went to sleep soon
after this, John sleeping with the tur-
quoiSe and massive gold still on his
arm. But next day he told me the
story of it.
THE person who gave me that
bracelet" he said. "wHS not Il lady.
but very far from it. Ii was given me
by poor. broken down devil who had
sold or pawncd everything else to buy
Il
while he lived.
81 needn't tell you his name. We
met out west, and | had several easy
opportunities of giving him Il helping
hand. But he was one of those cases
where Il helping hand cant help. The
man was utterly broken down by
drink.
when death camc-aftcr magnii-
cent spree, ending in Il fight in which
a bullet intended for some one else
clipped short the little span of life that
drink had left him--hc insisted on hay
ing me with him, because. he said. |
was the only human being left who
cared whether he lived or died. Then
he said that | must take the bracelet
anu N'hi IT. JtN' nv b''l t'ilN " I'll
since he got possession Of it in Afghan
istan in 1873.
"lle had been an officer of an Indian
cavalry regiment then and might have
risen high in the army if he could on
ly have let the brandy bottles alone,
"Cne of his native troopers took the
turquoise bracelet from the arm Of an
AfWhnn V-Dplor W-hnDl En had Eilln1
In u hand to hand fight You know, a
bracelet on the arm Is II common orna-
ment for an ASatic swell to wear. And
then there is superstition in the east
that turquoise with text of the
Koran cut into it. aS this has. is
charm against all sorts of evil.
"But the eastern legend also says
that when you wear n turquoise on
your left arm you can always trust the
stone to warn you Of any evil that may
be threatening you,
at WAS only when he was dying that
this poor fellow told me how he believ-
ed the turquoise had served him well.
and ! think that his taking that view
Of il showed there must be some good
still left in his nature.
when he Went to England on leave
Of absence after the Afghan war, he
said. he had made n strong resolution
fHver again to touch Intoxicating Spir-
its, He found himself among a num-
Der OF Old friends whom he had known
1T different times, and they were al
very convivial crowd, so he allowed
himself to Join in their carouSingS to
certain rNtcnt-iuSt to be sOciablr. But
one day rs he was dressing he noticed
that the turquoise looked very pale.
That, he knew. was the sign of danger
coming to him. He thought the matter
over and concluded that the danger
which threatened him was neither
more nor less than the temptation Of
drink, which had always been his bug
bear. ANA so. without word of warn
ing of farewell to his jolly friends he
took the train and went off to another
part OF tie country, where ne could
live among ASSOCIATIONS that would not
expose him to anything like the same
danger. Then. he told me, the color