The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1911-07-20
son was ., SIR. ard what made Mr.
Rutton 60 aw'y with 'im?"


| ''IIe didn't; he went after him to
Amber caught his tongue on
| the verge Of an indiscretion no mat
| ter what his fears, they were not yet
| become suitable subject for discus
sion with Rutton's servant. i think,
he amended lanely, he had forgotten
something"
And 'e's out there now! My Gawd.
what a night He hung in hesitation
for little. did % wear is tnpcoat
and at, sir?"
NO! he went suddenly. I don't
think he intended to be gone long
I'D better go after i'm, then. Ell
ave pneumonia. I'll just jump
into me clothes and" He slipped
into the back room, to reappear with
surprisingly little delay, fully dressed
and buttoning a long ulster round his
! throat. You didn't 'appen to mo-
tice which wy e went, sir?"
As well as could judge. to the
east"
and cap from pegs in the wall. I'll
do my best to find i'm; e might lose
'imself, you know, with no light nor
| nothin'"
| The door slammed behind him.
Alone, and prey to misgivings he
scarce dared name to himself, Am
| Der from the window watched the blot
Of light from Doggott's handlamp fade
and vanish in the storm: then, becom-
ing sensible to the cold, went to the
| fireplace, kicked the embers together
until they b1azed, and piled on more
| fuel.
! A coy, cracking sound began to
be audible In the room, sibilant Jets OF
flame, scarlet, yellow, violet and
green, spurted up from the driftwood.
Under the hypnotic influence of the
| comforting warmth, WEAKNESS de-
scended upon Amber like burden;
| he was afraid to close his eyes or to
sit down, lest sleep should overcome
| him for all his intense excitement and
anxiety. He forced himself to move
steadily round the room, struggling
against feeling that all that he had
witnessed must have been untrue, an
evil dream, akin to the waking Wis
| ions that had beset him between the
loss of Quain and the finding of Rut-
ton. The very mediocrity of the sur
roundings seemed to discredit the
testimony of his wits.
| In setting so hopelessly commoa-
place and everyday. one act OF q
| drama of blood and fire had been
played; into these mean premises tie
breath of the storm, as the babu en-
tered, had blown Romance. !.
Incredible!
And yet Ambers hand, dropping
idly in his clMtpocket, encountered a
priceless witness to the reality or
/ what had passed. browning, troubled.
he drew forth the ring and slipped II
upon his finger; rays of binding EN-
erald light coruscated from 1t, dan
zling him. With low cry Of wonder
he took 1t to the lamplight- Never
had he looked upon so fine stone. so
strangely cut.
| It was set in rudy soft geld, work
ed and craven with exquisite art In
| the semblance of two-headed cobra;
inside the band was an inscription so
/ worn and faint that Ambe1 exper~
fenced some difficulty In diciphering
the word Rao (king) in Deyanagari,
fanked by swastikas. Aside from the
stone entirely, he speciilated, the
value of the ring as an antique would
have proven inestimable. AS for the
emerald itself, In It's original state.
before cutting, 1t must have been
worth the ransom of an emperor;
much had certainly been sacrificed to
fashion Ii in its present form.
To gaze into It's depths was like
questioning the inscrutable green
heart of the sea. Fascinated, Amber
| felt his consciousness slip from him
as mantle might slip from his shout
ders; awake, staring wide-eyed into
the emerald eye, he forgot self. for.
got the world, and dreamed, dreamed
curiously.
The crash OF the door closing be-
hind him brought him to the right
about In panic f1utter. He glared
stupidity for time before compre-
hending that Rutton and Doggott had
returned.
II there were anything peculiar in
his manner, Rutton. did not remark it
Indeed, he seemed unconscious, for
time, OF the presence either Of Amber
or Of Dcggott. The servant relieved
him of his overcoat and hat, and he
strobe directly to the fire. bending
over to chafe and warm his frost
nipped hands. Unquestionably he la
bored under the influence Of an ex.
traordinary agitS d. His limbs
twitched and il nervously; his
eyebrows were 5nsely elevated, his
eyes blazing, his nostrils dilated: his
face was ashen gray.
From across the room Doggott sig
nailed silence to Amber. with fore
finger to his lips: and with discre-
ton bred Of long knowledge Of his
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