The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1912-06-07

dered him. not the least hitch delayed
his Decentralization. 1t was curious,
It was incredible, It was disturbing
He took away with him no ease OF
mind whatever
There were tikkagharries waiting,
and without a breath's delay the ad-
venturer and his servant climbed into
the nearest and desired to be con.
veyed to the Offices OF Messrs. Sec
retan and Sypher. The vehicle whirled
them swiftly away and into the main
Travelled way of Rangoon. Mogul
street.
In front Of a structure of stone and
iron so palpably an office building
that 1t might have been transplanted
to the Strand without exciting COM
ment-save for the spotless cleanli-
ness Of it-their tikkagharry drew up.
The gharriwallah indicated the Of
fees Of Messrs. Secretan and Sypher,
one flight up-and named his fare.
ORourke paid him and alighted, with
Danny at his heels and his heart try
ing to choke him. The hour of full
tilment was at hand-and all was
well! He who had faced death in a
hundred shapes Of terror unflinching,
found himself in a futter OF nerves
that would have disgraced a school
girl
He lodged into the building, took
the steps three at a stride and
suddenly found himself in the pres
ence Of, more than that, closeted with
the man to meet whom he had crossed
half the world at peril of his life:
Mr.. Lansdowne Sypher.
Colonel O'Rourke?" syphers man.
ner was very cordial. I'm glad to see
you. You are within your time, yet |
had begun to despair of you. Be
seated" He indicated a chair beside
his desk. And permit me; you OF
all men will appreciate the precau-
ton"
He laughed and went to the win
dows, adjusting the wooden shades in
such a manner that the light was
tempered and no portion of the room
could be visible to anyone spying
from a window in one of the adjacent
buildings. The he turned and smiled
cheerfully at the stupefied adventurer
81 have it here" said O'Rourke; safe
be the mercy of several highly poten-
tial saints!" He laughed uneasily,
fumbling in his breast pocket. There
it is" said he. tossing the stone in its
chamois covering upon the solicitors
desk.
Sypher himself betrayed some evi-
dences of nervousness as he sat for
ward and lifted the case by its Ieath-
ern thongs. He let it dangle before
him for an instant, watching it with
curious, speculative smile. q.
We'll" he said, really ="
And after a pause; Il congratulate
you, Colonel ORourke. And l admire
you immensely. You see.
when this commission was offered us,
considered seriously the project Of
going in search of you in person and
bringing the stone back to Rangoon
myself But then-although I'm not
really a timorous mani knew the
circumstances so WE'LL feared
should never reach Rangoon alive.
Yes" He thrust a hand into his waist
coat pocket and produced a penknife,
with which he began to slit the
stitches that enclosed the ruby.
You've been wondering, no doubt,
why so enormous a reward was Of
fered.
81 have that" assented O'Rourke.
1T was partly because of the dan
ger" said Sypher intent upon his oc-
cupation. You know, these Burmese
are a curiously pious folk; when one
of them grows rich he employs the
major part of his fortune in building
a temple-or in some such work This
particular gentleman-a very wealthy
merchant-chose to give half Of what
he had to the restoration of the Pool
of Flame to the Buddha from which it
was originally stolen. But he, too,
was afraid. He's superstitious about
the stone-believes It bad luck to
touch it so long as it remains away
from its Buddha. So he came to US.
. myself am not superstitious.
but
He ceased to speak abruptly, for the