The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1910-11-09

to meet 1t the more alertly.
The room was dark except for now
and again the yellow square of light,
from some passing cable car, travelling
along the ceiling. The four walls
around her, their dark bulks of fur
niture and light ripple of moving cur
tains, shut her up with this monster
OF her mind. 1t had sprung upon her
from the solid actualities of the night.
And yes, Of the day Beforehand the
night before that. Oh, she had known
well enough that there had been some
thing wrong at the goldsmith's shop.
She had felt it even before she had
seen the sapphire; and afterward how
1t had held them, both herself and
Harry! To have moved Harry 1t must
be something indeed! Had he sus-
pected 1t then, or had he only won
dered?
II he had suspected why hadn't he
spoken of it? Well, her appalling
fancy prompted, hadn't he spoken of
it?-though not to her. There flashed
back to her the memory of him there
in the back of the shop with the blue
eyed Chinaman. How furiously he
had assailed the little man! She
could be almost sure that the mon
strous idea which had just overtaken
her had, however fleetingly, flashed
before Harry's mind in the goldsmith's S
shop. But surely he couldn't have en-
tertained 1t for moment. That was
impossible, or he would never have let
her take the sapphire--Harry, who
had seen the ring, the very Crew
Idol itself, within the "a hours.
"a little heather god curled round
himself with big blue stone on the
top of his head" Harry hadn't said
what sort of stone it was; but Kerr
had said 1t was a sapphire. There
was sapphire on her, and now. She
touched 1t with her finger tips eau
tiously, as If to touch something hot.
SO near to her! In the same room
with her! On her own hand! 1t
was too much to be alone with in the
dark! She reached out softly, as If
she feared to disturb some threaten
ing presence lurking around her. and
lit the small night lamp on the low
table by her bed. The shade was yell
low, and that contended with the
blue of the sapphire, but couldn't
break its light With the first flash
of its splendor in her face she felt
certainty threatening her. She shook
the ring quickly off her finger and it
fell with light clatter on the tables
marble top-fell with the sapphire
face down, and all It's light hidden.
She took 1t up again little fearfully,
as If 1t might have got some harm;
and again while she looked at it it
seemed to her that nothing that hap
pened about this jewel could be too
extraordinary. If only it had been
less wonderful, less beautiful, she
would not have felt so terribly afraid!
She put 1t back on the table and for
moment held her hand over it, as
If she imprisoned living thing.
Then, without looking again, she
dow. It overlooked the dark steep of
the garden, the moving trees and the
lighter plane of the water. She
leaned out, far out. Black housetops
marched against the bay, and be-
tween them, light by light, her eyes
followed the street lamps down to the
shore.
Oh, to escape out of this window
into the innocent, sleeping city, away
from the horror at her back! TO look
in from the outside and be even sure
there was horror And Il there was,
to run away into the wide soft dark!
But there was another way to be
rid of it. The real idea occurred to
her. How easy it would be to take It
that beautiful thing-and throw it;
throw it as hard as she could, and
let the night take care of it. The win
dow was open, as if it stood ready,
and there was the ring on the table.
She went to it, looked at it moment
without touching it, holding her hands
away.
Then with little shiver she backed
away from it and sat down on the
foot of the bed. She looked pale and
little, as If the eye Of the ring, bla-
zing under the feeble lamp, like the
evil eye, had sapped her fire and
youth. She hugged her arms around
her updrawn knees, and resting her
chin upon them eyed the sapphire
bravely.
Il suppose you know can't throw
you away" she murmured, "and yet
can't keep you!" She pondered, chin
in hand. To take it to Harry! That
seemed the natural thing to do-the
simplest way to be rid of it. She hes
itated.
"If l only knew! If l only were
sure!" She locked her fingers closer,
staring hard If 1t had been the whole
Crew Idol, the undismembered god
himself, then there would have been
less terror, and one plain thing to do
She looked hard at the sapphire set
ting, as If she hoped to discover upon
its brilliance some tell-tale trace of
old soft gold; but there was only one
i great, CLASSY. polished eve. and ont of