Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-03-21
The Rubies OF the
Sacrifice
An Audacious Hazard of Nkolai, Independent Agent
Related by His Lieutenant, Summers
BY H. M. EGBERT
copyright. 1913. by W. G. Chapman

emerging from inc lOITlN SlItltUfS OF
the Red sea into the cooler waters of
the Indian ocean We were eight
days out from Southampton. with
twelve days more TO pass before ma
king Calcutta. our destination. We
had gone thithcr attracted, by the
coronation ceremonies. thinking that
some financial profit ought TO accrue
60 MS when raiahs and high officers
Of state were Hocking to attend the
marnihcouco Of tho ViCcrOy's durbar.
Tho priest was dressed i'm the fun
uniform or rcgalia of his order and
attended by two devoted sorvitOrs.
who cooked his rice lest me should be-
contaminated by sharing th" same
meal as that Of the outcasts. no
tiCed too, that when he walked on
the deck ne took care that the shadow
of no passenger should fan athwart
him. It was whispered Mt the cap
tain's tabl" that he was q man of cy-
trcmc sanctity who. having spent ten
years In meditation among the forests
OF the Hindu Kush. had gone vOlun-
tarily to England to offer spiritual
blessings to England's now ruler.
And yet-hc had been educated at
Cambridge,
II cam dpOn me with n sort Of
shock al fret TO hear this pundit, ven
cradle i'm dignities If not i'm years,
discuss with NikOlai the latest scien-
tiiic discoveries. pragmatism. Metz
sCheism, and a dozen more up-to-date
philosophers: and | perceived that
when his interest was aroused he did
not especially object to my shadow
falling across his own After the first
evening we were firm friends: on the
second night he admitted, In fluent
eloquent English. that he was an
agnOstic On the third he was sitting
I'm our stateroom drinking gin.
1T looks like water-and it's always
well to be on the safe side" he whs-
pered. as we raised our glasses
don't know how it came about, but
all at once discovered that the veneer
able gentleman was as squalid a
BLACKBOARD as | had ever had the
fortune to meet. ! suppose conf
dence begot confidence; anyhow. pres
emily we three we're hard at work up
on the details of a scheme which was
to enrich us all
Mind you" said the high priest,
reassuming the discarded garment of
virtue. Il am not a dishonest man.
But why should these wretChed idola-
ters possess such wealth, which has
absolutely no meaning to them. when
IL could be used as | know we three
shall use there he winked portent-
ously-"fOr the advancement of
humanity"
And this statue-how Is Il called -
asked NikOlai
The Juggernaut," | interrupted.
Surely you have heard of it, Nikolai?
They used to put human victims in
side and burn them to the beating of
tOmtoms: and since the English gov
eminent abolished the practice they
take 1t through the streets of Cal
cutta annually and sacrifice pig in
stead"
This Rajah," interpolated the priest
bldhulg. HlBplli6 at ilH KIN anu bOhdf
decorated it with rubies to the value
of about eight millions OF your dol
lars. There Is an enormous ruby for
either eye, and a bigger one still that
hangs over the forehead. These three
gems are worth about a million apiece
The smaller gems, aggregating five
millions, are strung between the ears
and over the breast They can all be
reached from the trap window in the
throat by anyone inside. You enter
through the back. | want the three
big gems-and you can divide the
smaller ones. Such a treasure con-
verted into money will do much to
spread the pure faith of the Vedas
through Bengal" he added with an
unctuous smirk, and the idolaters
will never know that their jewels are
Birmingham crystals and cost one
shilling a gross" Here he pulled out
a handful Of what looked like magni-
ficent rubies and threw them upon the
table. Three were as large as
pigeons eggs
Then the scoundrel unfolded his
plan to us. IL appeared that, as one of
the highest order of Brahmin priests.
he was in charge of the Juggernaut
temple and of the priests who served
the great idol. He would admit us to
the temple. let us into the door at
the rear of the figure. and leave us
there to remove the splendid rubies
from the eye-sockets and forehead
and to put in their place the imitation
stones. which he thereupon handed
US. We should be able to reach every
gem through a little opening in the
throat, and must watch our oppor-
tunity during the night when we
should be inside the idol. In the
morning. while the priests were busy
IN the temple. he would approach us
-p~A receive the three largest stones
through the trap door. The remainder
we're to be our property, and we would
then be wheeled throuh the streets
OF Calcutta, inside the idol When
the portions of roast pig were thrust
through the trap in the throat, we
ally establishing a new miracle for the
Juggernaut; and finally, at night,
when the idol was returned to his
home, the priest would see that we
had an opportunity to slip away be-
fore the interior was explored by the
temple attendants, who usually appro-
priated the minor offerings of fruits