The Monticellonian., 1917-01-25

and We're utterly meaningless If that
is correet-it must be- but the stone
was so rubbed none of us could de-
cipher it-why. it places the date back
to the thirtyffth century, B. c., in
stead OF the twenty.seventh And that
explains why the old cuneiform was
used by the engrayer"
Who mas this stone?" asked Doctor
Emmanuel and We all gripped our
seats more tightly at the snarling
monosyiable IT,
why did you not deliver it to the
high priest of Marduk ?" the doctor
asked.
i did He would not receive it. -
shrilled the woman on the sofa. In
stead. he sent soldiers to arrest me.
1t is his. He does not know. He"
Her voice ceased. her eyes were
open, and she was clinging desperately
round Doctor Immanuels neck and
deathly pale She shuddered and
quailed as though in intolerable fear;
and she would have screamed but that
she could not find her voice again
Then she collapsed. a dead weight. in
the Doctors arms. and he placed her
in supine posture upon the sofa
Call your housekeeper and we will
help carry her to her ROOM" said Doc
tor Emmanuel NO. for Mr. Tarrant
was protesting will be all right
now The strain was too intense for
her; the awakening too sudden, but she
will sleep peacefully and, but for lit.
tie nausea tomorrow, she will be quite
herself again. And she will have no
recollection Of what has occurred.
u don't want to let the housekeeper
know Mr. Tarrant answered. Help
me, doctor and We will take her up
stairs I'm glad my wife is not at
home tonight" he added, grimly She
mightn't approve of this"
But Mr. Tarrant took good care to
secure and pocket the amulet before
he took Miss Blythes head and Shout
ders into his arms and led the way out
Of the library. | sat there for three or
four minutes, wondering could not
quite understand Just what had oe-
Cured
The two men came back arguing VIC
lently. Doctor tmmanuels voice rose
high and shrill above that of his
friend
She told YOU the inscription on the
stone and set YOU right some six centu=
ries. he cried What other proof do
you want, Tarrant2s
oh. we'll lis all rubbish, you know. .
answered the millionaire. "Of course.
now that l have the amulet | don't
want to have the girl sent to Jail. But
cant keep a thief in my house-now
can I. DOCTOR"
She need not be thief" Doctor I'm
manuel answered. 1t all depends up
on you"
How so? Didn't you yourself tell
me that she would steal again
Yes As long as she was looking
for the opportunity to restore the lost
amulet to the high priest"
We'll. I guess she'll have to go on
looking for him. said Mr.. Tarrant.
What do you want me to do-take her
to Babylon and look for the incarna=
ton Of the old fellow among the desert
Bedouin o.
''Why, my dear Tarrant you don t
suppose you'll find him there, do
you2" the doctor asked quzzically.
More probably in this city. DO YOU
suppose man of that intelligence is
condemned to be reborn as a camel
herder2 The civilization of Babylon
passed on to Rome, and thence to Eng
land and America, just as the Hindus
became the Egyptians and the Greek
republics the republics of Florence,
Genoa and Pisa and Venice in the mid
die ages
Now look here. Tarrant," he contin-
ued as they sat down. here is the sit
uation as | size it up Believe me or
not. as you please-it doesn't matter
Your Helen Blythe was once the
priestess of Ishtar. 1t wasn't a posi-
ton that called for any high intellect:
it was a semi.servile position, in fact.
and the priestess was chosen mainly
for her appearance and birth. We may
suppose that in her former birth she
had merited her good fortune by gen
erous deeds. but, once the reward had
been enjoyed. she sank down to the
grade of governess again-or it's equiv
alent in the ancient world She had
the care of this amulet She was
bound under the most sacrosanct of
oaths to deliver it to the priest of
Marduk For some cause she failed
to fulfil her task. and the omission so
profoundly affected her that it lay like
an incubus on her soul during her next
incarnation She stole rings, obsessed
solely by the desire to discover the
lost amulet again At last she found
it. She took it TO the museum still In
her entranced eondition-and was on
the point of placing it with the other
half when she was arrested, or as she
rather confusedly interpreted the oe-
currence when on the borderline be.
tween sleep and waking, the king sent
soldiers to arrest her-probably the
police and watchmen at the museum
Now, Tarrant, send the half amulet to
the museum and you will find it per-
fectly safe to keep Miss Blythe in your
house henceforward
We'll. said Mr. Tawlnt. TO be
frank, have intended to present It to
the museum shortly, and after my ex-
perienees of the past few days I'll fol
low your advice. But as for keeping
her in my employment"
Try it. Tarrant," pleaded Doctor
Emmanuel
Suppose she steals"
She won't steal any more, when
once the amulet is in safekeeping"