Gloucester County Democrat., 1908-07-16

S<ti11dEIIS--
1T has been wonderful, wonderful
night to me, and some day am com
| ing back to tell you why"
Under the chaperonage of a dow
ager duchess who knew how to turn
her title to financial account Helen
Morgan was doing" the London sea-
son In a Mayfair drawing room she
sat, and beside her was a man with a
monocle, an English accent above re-
proach and a patronizing air. OF course
the Morgan millions would mean the
remantIing of his ancestral but crum-
bling castles, but then the utter indif-
ference of this girl irritated him even
While it commanded his admiration.
II suppose you saw Erskine in Paris.
Hes been the go over there-made by
| the American set, / understand. They
say it's his manners as much as his
art that got the women all going. He
never speaks during his performance
and has the most inscrutable eyes.
Never could understand why women
went in so heavily for eyes. Con-
jurers bore me. as a rule, but I'm Curl
ous to see this man."
Helen Morgan hardly heard what the
man with the monocle was saying.
"Erskinei'
In a secret drawer of her jewel case
there lay a card, frank Erskine Will
liams," the card of the man who had
never come back, never sent her a
message in five years, the man who
had forgotten. But, no; this could not
be he, for the man who had promised
had ready tongue-yes, ready
tongue, as all men had-who promised.
A f1utter of fans and a murmur Of
subdued interest announced that the
lien Of the evening had arrived. A
quick inclination of the head, snap
ping of long, slender fingers, and the
performance was under way With
lightning rapidity and wonderful deft-
ness the conjurer worked, and the
breathless audience watched, not so
much the tricks as the unsmiling lips,
the inscrutable eyes, which seemed not
to see either the sea of faces upraised
his unspoken biddings
Only one person in the fashionable
audience saw something more, and
that a quivering, blue eyed girl who
for one brief second had met and held
the magician's glance and seen burn
ing in those inscrutable eyes fire
which had burned there on a night five
| years before, fire lit centuries agone
In the eyes of the worlds first man
| Adam.
The assistant called for a ring with
which his master would work new
trick. Mechanically Helen Morgan
handed him magnificent hoop of
pearls Erskine took the ring gravely,
raised a silver hammer and apparent
" smashed the tFinllet into thousand
/ pieces on an anyi OF cgWiously wrought
/ silver. Then tie produced a sealed
casket of water Iii which swan a gold
fish, and III the mouth of the fish he
found the hoop OF pearls. But the
ring was not returned to its owner by
| the assistant. Instead. as the room
| rang with applause. The magician him
self walked quietly down the aisle,
| formed by the parting of many silken
skirts, and placed the ring on the girls
| trembling white hand Not even the
man with the monocle noticed that the
conjurer for an instant held the slim
fingers in his with a pressure that
| threatened to crush them, nor did he
dream that within the girls palm lay
another ring at which she dared not
look
Somewhat awkwardly she slipped on
her long white glove. She was so
deeply engaged in this operation that
she did not even see the conjurer as
| he left the improyised stage. In the
privacy of the boudoir hours later she
held the conjurer's ring under the
| light Of a blazing electrolier.
Such an odd-I was almost going
to say ugly-ring," she murmured as
she slipped it on her finger and turn
ed it this way and that A diamond
an emerald, an amethyst, a ruby, an
other emerald, sapphire and a topaz
formed the brilliant half hoop Then
| suddenly her cheeks burned crimson.
She had read the story of the many
colored gems. Their first letters spell
ed dearest the message Of the man
| who had not forgotten his promises.
| With her chocolate the next morning
came an oddly shaped French gray
| envelope, bare of crest or monogram.
Forgive my temerfty Of last night, :
ran the message within, "but for years
I have been carrying that ring in my
| pocket, waiting for our meeting. They
were the first gems | bought when
success came my way, and ! gathered
them one by one, each perfect in its
way and worthy the one woman In al
the world. Yet last night heard yot
were to marry the Earl of Warburton.
] If this is true, do what you will with
| the ring. If it is but an idle rumor,
drop me single word to the Hotel