The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-08-11


OF anger, lie blamed not alone him
sslf, but Paul. whose carelessness hat
made ths theft possible. At first n
had argued that II served Paul right
but now the tiny scarab had grown tt
the weight of milestone about hi'
neck.
He did not dare take II out ant
place II In his collection. lie did no
even dare to look at 1t himself les
Lena, coming In suddenly, as was hel
wont, should discover him with th'
evidence OF guilt In his hand.
The evil he had done preyed upol
his health. He suddenly grew very olt
and feeble, and his enthusiasm for hl'
collection waned. The thought that his
hobby had made OF him a thief wa'
bitter indeed, and In the long silence
OF the night he tossed sleepless on hls
bed and cursed the day he had seer
the scarab on the stairs.
Paul had taken his loss as a slight
thing and after casual inquiry had
let the matter drop, but the professor
knew how priceless was the find, and
the thought that he had betrayed the
confidence of guest was an additional
source Of pain to the sensitive old man
At last his condition became so grave
that I nna X,.as, ala ,p,ad The nrnfausn,
would not consent TO see physician
He knew we'll enough that no medical
man could bring him relief, and as Il
last resource Lena wrote Paul asking
him to come and see them. Already
Paul had gained reputation as a spe
cialist, and since her father would moi
go to see physician the only thing tC
be done was TO bring the specialist tc
him.
She said nothing of Pauls visit 70
her father and she arranged with
Paul to pretend that he had dropped
off over one train to pay short visit
They met only at the table and Pauls
first glance told him that his host was
laborlng under some great mental
strain and that nothing could be done
until that strain was relieved. With
the idea Of diverting the professors
attention from his cares he brought
out scarab.
At the sight Of 1t the professor hall
rose from the table and uttered q
hoarse cry Of surprise. The scarab was
the exact duplicate OF the one In the
secret compartment of the safe, and
not protiting by experience, Paul was
carrying this in his waistcoat pocket.
as he had the other
"There were two?' asked the pro.
fessor.
Dozens declared Paul. II owe you
an apology, professor. l had intended
to explain 1t before, but the loss of the
other put 1t out of my mind. This is
not real scarab"
at is a copy Of the other?",
mo Nona Of them are genuine
They are luck charms. You remem.
bcr bud Gili1s of '02? Well, he Is
selling these as mascots. You must re
member the ouija fad. This is cop.
of that. You may have this one. II
never brought me any luck"
He tossed the stone across the table
and with trembling hands the pro,
fessor examined the gift. He would
have sworn to its genuineness, but In
the fact Of Paul's statement this could
not be SO. He experienced an odd
sense of relief. He was no less a thief
though there was not hanging over
him the dread fear that he would not
be able to make restitution. He passed
the stone back to Paul.
II meant to tell you that found
the other he said slowly. 81 was
wondering how to get it to you"
Keep them both, then" cried Paul
"They bring me no luck"
But. 1t does" said the professor
earnestly. 1T brings you the woman
you wish to marry 1t is better that
my collection should pass to the mu.
scum. l would not have my daugh.
ter's husband share my craze. Not
until lately have | come to that con.
cluslon, and 1t was this scarab that
brought the belief about After that
can you say that it brings no luck?"
Luck" cried Paul. I'm going to
write Dud to put the price up to mil
lion doIars-if he can guarantee like
results In every case"
He leaned over to kiss Lena, and the
professor stole away from the table.
free from care at last Paups scarab
had worked double cure.