The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1911-06-22
son was e. Sly, and THAT made MI.
on r,is ,ir,,o

| AAN Will i.S " SA-A a. NSA MN W
|. Amber caught his tongue Oh
the verge Of an indiscretion; no mat
ter what his fears, they were not yet
become suitable subject for discus
sion with Ruttons servant. Il think
he amended lamely, he had forgotten
something"
And 'es out there now! My Cave.
what night" He hung in hesitation
! for little. did e wear is topcoat
and at, s!r?"
No! he went suddenly. don't
think he intended TO be gone long
I'D better go after I'm, then. Ell
ave pneumonia. III 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 no
tice which wy e went, sir?"
las well as l could Judge, to the
east"
Dcggott took down a second ulster
and cap from pegs in the wall. III
do my best to find i'm; @ might lose
| iihseli, sou huoW, Win III ilSht hoi
nothin'."
The door slammed behind him.
Alone, and prey to misgivirgs he
scarce dared name to himself, Am
Der from the window watched the bot
| of light from Doggotts handlamp fade
and vanish in the storm; then, becom.
ing sensible to the cold, went to the
| ly,n ~
until they blazed, and piled on more
fuel
A cozy, cracking sound began to
be audible in the room, sibilant jets OF
flame, scarlet, yellow, violet and
green, spurted up from the driftwood.
! l nder the hypnotic influence of the
comforting warmth, WEAKNESS de-
seconded upon Amber like a 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 a feeling that all that he had
witnessed must have been untrue, an
evil dream, akin to the waking Wis
| luis tHut Huu DcSeI MN utiNtSh NllV
| loss of Quain and the finding of Rut-
ton. The very mediocrity of the sur.
| roundngs seemed to discredit the
testimony of his wits.
In 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.
| Incredible!
And yet Amber's hand, dropping
idly in his coatpocket, encountered
priceless witness to the reality of
what had passed Frownng troubled,
he drew forth the ring and slipped it
upon his finger; rays of binding en-
erald light coruscated from it, daz-
cling him. With low cry of wonder
he took it to the lamplight, Never
had he looked upon so fine a stone. so
strangely cut
1t was set In rudy soft GOLD, work
cd and craven with exquisite art In
the semblance of a twoheaded cobra;
inside the band vas an inscription so
worn and faint that Amber eXper'
fenced some difficulty in diCiphering
the word Rao (king) in Devanagari,
fanked by swastikas. Aside from the
stone entirely, he speculatcd, the
value of the ring as an antique would
have proven inestimable. As for the
emerald itself in its original state,
before cutting, it must have been
worth the ransom Of an emperor;
much had certainly been sacrificed to
fashion it in its present form.
To gaze into its 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
dcrs; 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 a panic hutter He glared
stupidity for a time before compre-
bending that Rutton and Doggott had
returned.
If there were anything peculiar in
his manner, Rutton did not remark 1t.
! Indeed. he seemed unconscious, for
time, of the presence either of Amber
or of Doggott. The servant relieved
him of his overcoat and hat, and he
strobe directly to the nre, bending
over to chafe and warm his frost
nipped hands. JInquestionably he la.
bored under the influence of an cx.
| traordinary agitation. His limbs
| twitched and jerhed nervously: his
! eyebrows were tersely elevated, his
eyes bladng, 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-
tion bred Of long knowledge of his
masters temper, tiptoed through into
the back room and shut the door.
| Amber respected the admonition
throughout u wait that seemed end
less.
(To BE CONTINUED)
|