The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1910-04-20
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The Ring of the !
Maharajah
10 One Man 1t Seemed to Cause
. Many Deaths.
! by CLARlSSA MACKIE
I Copyright, 1910. by American Press
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"fcs, said BENTLEY, pulling at his
cigar and looking thoughtfully at
white line that marked the bronze OF
his finger. that Is where | used to
wear the ring of the maharaja Of
no matter what"
And thereby hangs n tale, MS can
guess. returned Laidlaw. with a
laugh. out with it. man.
The maharajah was friend OF
mine. hunted tigers with him, and
once saved his life from the beast
whose skin is under our feet" The
three men looked down at the splendid
tiger skin at their feet, ut the tawney
beauty of the silken hair and then at
the cruel head with its snarllng Hips
and deadly fangs.
Il saved his life and he was very
grateful 10 me for It, lie gave me
rich presents. and then one day In
spite of my protests he insisted upon
my accepting the ring. II Is n wide
band of gold with II carved amethyst
sunk deep iii the setting Sahib
BENTLEY. said the maharajah. this will
bring good fortune. the blessing of
heaven and protection from your enc.
mics. Come tomorrow and | will tell
you the story of the ring aud how you
may use II TO advantage BENTLEY
paused and looked gravely into the
fire
Al MI lt,. nI l "a IL
law. YOU went and
The next day went TO the palace
and found that the mahara]ah Ind
died suddenly in the night"
And SO you never knew the history
of the ring" remarked Eastman.
Not until II made new history after
Ii came into my possession. AT first
| did not wear II through some dislike
for barbarous iewelry. aud then one
day after had been thinking of the
old mahara iah and deciding what n
white old heather he had been ! slip
ped ii oh my finger, and so grew
into the habit OF wearing H.
'Ohe night | WAS dining with a lot
of fellows mt the Calcutta club when
suddenly one of them. Il little English
man by name of Ellsworth. caught my
hand and examined the ring thought
fully was explaining the matter OF
the ring to him when, with n startled
cry, he fell over on the floor
lie WAS dead when we picked him
up" he said presently Heart dis
ease. the doctors said"
And what was your opinion 2"
II had none 70 me II was merely {
coincidence that he should have ex
PRED while examining my ring
never connected the ring with the cas-,
In any way 4 year aftcrward while
was sitting In the vcranda of my bun
galow Il servant announced that lady
wished to see me- She was admitted
to .be verauda, and | found her to be
the wife of an English army officer
whom | knew merely by reputation
He was Il hard case, and rumor had IL
that he WAS disgrneed and papers
from the home office were en- route to
Calcutta regarding his suspension.
Mrs FltZ Norton WIS II very beau
tiful woman. quict aud refined, but her
face expressed the greatest distress.
She apologized for iutruding upon me
aud then asked abruptly II | possessed
the ring of the maharn iah. ! told her
that | did and that | had It on. She
asked TO examine II closely. and |
drew il Off and handed II TO her. With
little cry she pressed II to her lips
and Bentley stopped short and
stared dehantly ut his companions.
And whnt happened| they asked In
unison
why. she sank To the floor uncon-
sclous and died that night" said Bent
ley. passing his hand YEARLY across
his brow.
The deyill' uttered I.aidlaw, look
Ing pityingly at his friend
Poisoned muttered Eastman. lean
ing forward In his chair. with brood
Ing eyes fixed ON the fire
"Oh. 1t was examined for poison.
and none was found" said Bentley.
at made matters very unpleasant fol-
me, but the fact that 1t was given Ia
me by the muharajah WAS generally
known. and so il WAS forgotten after
awhile"
And did you continue to wear IT,
Yes. After II was examined and
found harmless did wear 1t for n
year or two until He paused again
In manner that had been peculiarly
ayuSnprut inc IN his uparp
Until whenf' exclaimed Lnidaw
impatlently
Until the great tragedy" returned
Bentley. He was looking very white
and worn now. and the two men no
ticcd for the first time the gauntness
of his face aud the dark hollows under
his eyes. II WAS engaged to marry
Miss Vivian, n beautiful young Eng
fish girl the daughter Of the officer in
command Of the Calcutta barracks.
wished to bestow ring upon her, and
she would have no other than this one.
| told her the curse that seemed to be
upon Il, but she would not llsten she
insisted gave her the ring, and she
died In my arms" He bent his head
upon his breast aud stared yacantly at
The dancing flames on the hearth.
SHOW Us the ring. old chap" said
Eastman earnestly, ignoring Laidfaw's
Indignant glance Perhaps we can
help you
NO one can help me now" returned
Bentley l,stlessly rs he arose and went