The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-05-04

Tor PHYS syke, sir, watts 'appenedF'
ITS hard TO say" replied Amber
vaguely, preoccupied. He went Inn
mediately to a window and stood
there, looking out
But w'ere's Mr.. Rutton. sir7"
"Gone-out there don't know tust
where" Amber moved back to the
table. You see. he had a caller"
"A caller, sir-on a night like thisf'
The man he came here to hide
FROM" said Amber.
Il knew g was tryin' to dodge
somethin', sir; but q never told me
aught about It. What kind of a per
son was e, sir, and what made Mr..
Rutton go aw'y with imp"
II didn't; he went after him to .
. Amber caught his tongue on
ter what his fears. they were not yet
become a suitable subject for discus
sion with Rutton's servant. Il think"
he amended lamely, "he had forgotten
something"
And 'e's out there now. My Gawd,
what a night" He hung in hesitation
for a little. did g wear Is topcoat
and at, sir?"
mo! he went suddenly. l 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 delsg, fully dressed
and buttoning a long ulster round his
throat. You didn't 'appen to no
tice which wy e went, sir?"
"As we'll as I could Judge, to the
east"
boycott took down a second ulster
and a cap from pegs in the wall. "I1l
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 a prey to m~isgivings 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 blazed. and piled on more
fuel.
A coy, cracking sound began to
be audible In the room, sibilant Jets Of
fame, scarlet, yellow, violet, and
green, spurted up from the driftwood.
Under the hypnotic influence of the
comforting warmth, WEAKNESS de-
scended upon Amber like a burdenj
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 a 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 m%ediocrity of the sur
roundings seemed to discredit the
testimony of his wits.
In a setting so hopelessly common
place and everyday, one act Of a
drama Of blood and fire had been
played; into these mean premises the
breath of the storm, as the babu en-
tered, had blown Romance. q.
Incredible!
And yet Amber's hand, dropping
idly In his ooatpocket, encountered a
priceless witness TO the reality Of
what had passed. Frowning, troubled.
he drew forth the ring and slipped IL
upon his finger; rays OF binding en-
erald light coruscated from 1t, daz-
cling him. With a low cry of wonder
he took It to the lamplight. Never
had he looked upon so fine a stone, so
strangely cut.
II was set In rudy soft gold, work
ed and craven with exquisite art in
the semblance Of a two-headed cobra;
inside the band was an inscription so
worn and faint hat Amber exper-
fenced some difficulty in d~iciphering
the word Rao (king) In D~evsnagari,
fanked by swastikas. Aside from the
stone entirely, he %speculated, 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 1t IN its present form.
To gaze into It's depths was Ike
questioning the i~nscrutable green
heart Of the sea. Fascinated, Amber
felt his consciousness slip from him
as q mantle might slip from his shoul-
deYs; awake, staring wide-eyed into
the emerald eye, he forgot self, for.
got the world, and dreamed, dreamed
c~uriously.
The crash of the door closing be-
hind him brought him to the right
about in a panic dutter. He glared
stupidity for a time before compre-
bending that Rutton and Doggott had
returned.
II there were anything peculiar in
his manner. Rutton did not remark It
Indeed. he seemed unconscious, for q
time, Of the presence either of Amber
or OF Doggott. The servant relieved
him of his overcoat and hat, and he
atrOda hiroctlv to tha Aro hoDdinR