Gilpin observer., 1911-08-24
son was e, sir, and what made Mr..
Rutton go awy with imp"


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. II think"
he amended lamely, "he had forgotten
something"
And 'e's out there now! My Gawd.
what night" He hung in hesitation
for little. did o wear is topcoat
and at, sir?"
mo! he went suddenly. don't
think he intended to be gone long"
I'D better 60 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 long ulster round his
throat. you didn't 'appen to no
tice which wy q went, sir?"
"As we'll. az could fudge, to the
east"
Doggott took down q second ulster
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 q 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 blazed, and piled on more
fuel.
cozy, 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, weariness de-
scended 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 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 common
place and everyday, one act Of
drama Of blood and flre 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
| In a
priceless witness to the reality Of
what had passed. Frowning, troubled.
he drew forth the ring and slipped It
upon his finger; rays of binding en-
erald light coruscated from 1t, daz-
zling 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.
It was set in ruddy 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 that Amber exper-
fenced some difficulty in diciphering
the word Rao (king) in Devanagari.
fanked by swastikas. Aside from the
stone entirely. he speculated, the
|
have proven inestimable. AS for the
emerald itself, in its original state.
before cutting, 1t 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 a mantle might slip from his shoul-
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 fiutter. He glared
stupidity for time before compre-
hending that Rutton and Doggott had
returned.
If there were anything peculiar in
his manner, Rutton did not remark It.
Indeed. he seemed unconscious. for a
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 FIRE. bending
over to chafe and warm his frost
nipped hands. Unquestionably he la
bored under the influence of an cx-
traordinary agitation. His limbs
twitched and jerked nervously; his
eyebrows were tensely elevated, his
eyes blazing. his nostrils dilated: his
face was ashen gray.
From across the room Doggott sig
| paled silence m Ambar with FORE
finger to his lips; and with a discre-
tion bred of long knowledge of his
masters temper, tiptoed through into
the back room and shut the door.
Amber respected the admonition