Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-26

wide. He appeared to be enraged beyond
measure by its loss. and hurried back in
stantly to the scene of the outrage.
Then. and not until then. did Armstrong
and the others in the house learn that the
bomb had been thrown by woman.
A dog cart soon brought Lord Carlingham
and Frank to the place. Indeed, the latter
had his portmanteaus in the cart to proceed
to the station when the prince first was
brought back on the motor. crowd Of
people, judciousy restrained by a police
man, indicated the exact locality; a little
farther on Prince Boris, with several will
ing helpers, was searching every tussock of
grass and thorn root to find the lost trinket.
He did not seem to be wholly pleased by
Armstrong; appearance, but he politely
negatived a theory that the opal might be
in his clothes.
1T passes through a slit cut in all my
waistcoats," he explained II carry It in
my left pocket invariably. Undoubtedly it
was jerked out as my Arab sprang into the
air. and may have flown anywhere"
1T may have been found by some passer-
by, or by the first persons who gathered
here after the attack" suggested Arm
strong.
Then / Will offer a reward-a thousand
ten thousand, pounds-for it's recovery"
Certainly his serene highness had lost his
serenity. There never was man more per-
turbed by reason of such seemingly trivial
cause.
Armstrong wondered If any one had
searched the meadow on the other side Of
the road. 1t was entirely conceivable that
a smooth object like the gem described,
pulled forth from its receptacle with force
sufficient to break a strong gold chain,
might have Travelled a considerable distance.
He climbed a gate and walked up behind
the hedge until he stood opposite to the
dark stain on the road, hastily smothered in
dust, which showed where the unfortunate
horse had been killed. Hardly knowing why
he took such trouble on behalf Of a man
whom he detested-feeling, perhaps. that 1t
was unreasonable to dislike Prince Boris
simply because Lady Ermyntrude might be-
come Russian princess-he began a close
scrutiny of the luxuriant crop of grass.
He had not gone five yards before he saw
the opal shining in the sun. His first i'm
pulse was to cry aloud to the searchers in
the roadway, but for some occult reason he
checked the words on his lips. He stopped
and lifted the glorious gem from its resting
place. AT that instant he was screened from
observation by a hazel tree, and he was able
to examine the stone unobserved.
Never in his life had he seen such a Won
drous object. 1t contained all the colors of
the rainbow, and it's prismatic hues flashed
at him in the sunlight with overpowering
magnificence. Red, blue, green, yellow, fiery
gold and flaming ruby, the tender sheen of
the sky at dawn and the depths of heaven
on starry night, all these seemed to spar
kle at him from the curious strip of rides
cent silica on which his eyes rested.
The owners description of its size was
curate. Near to one end hole was bored,
through which the gold chain probably had
passed The side that Armstrong first held
toward his dazzled vision was smooth and
CLASSY to the touch. He turned the opal
mechanically, and again he experienced
shock of incoherent surprise. On this side
were inlaid three small golden triangles, or
pyramids. They were equilateral, and all of
the same size. With the very glimpse OF
them he remembered the Nominated knife
of the big Russian encountered at the An
archist Club.
The same token; but in such different de-
gree, What could it mean? Was it the in
sigma of some secret society? Surely Prince
Boris Melnikoff, the friend of royalty, the
pampered favorite of many courts, could
have naught in common with man who
said that only the heart could conceive the
tragedy of his country!
The dull gold of the little pyramids in
nowise interfered with the beauty of the
remainder of the gem on this side.
He fancied that the metal bore some faint
marks, letters or heraldic devices; but If he
remained too long absorbed in his examina-
ton he feared that some one might see him
from the road. Oddly enough, there shot
through his brain not the temptation, but
the active suggestion. that he would do well
to place the opal in his pocket and say moth
ing whatever about 1t to anybody. To a
man Of the highest honor. such prompting
was grotesque, preposterous. The mere
thought of it restored his scattered wits and
made him laugh aloud.
At once he strobe toward the hedge, and
holding out the gem said: Il think I have
found your highness' lost fetish.'
He did not realize that he used any ex-
preston out of the common. An almost
frantic joy leaped into the eyes of Prince
Boris when he saw the opal glittering in
Armstrong; hand. The Russian actually
clutched the gem with ludicrous haste.
ST never can thank you sufficiently he
cried, hoarsely. Name your own recon-
pense."
Armstrong flushed The moment the opal
quilted his hand he felt calmer.
1T am only too glad to have rendered you
a slight service" he said.
"But you do not know what this means to
me-" said the other with feverish eagerness.
"It is" he checked himself-'it is family
heirloom beyond value. Ask anything can
give. and"
again repeat that my reward lies in hav-
ing restored 1t to you," said Frank, and the
Russian seemed to understand that his ex-
element was passing the bounds Of discre-