Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1917-12-27
THE OPAL RING
BY EFFIE STEVENS.

which all the latent superstition of his
nature had come to the front, Harold
Ashton decided that he would rid him
self of his ill-omened opal at the ear
lest possible moment.
He had had nothing but i'll luck
since he owned the thing, the crown
Ing piece being his quarrel with his
fiancee, Marion Hubert. She had de-
clared that the great gem in it's unique
setting was too snowy an article of
jewelry for man of good taste to
wear. He had thought differently, and
the outcome had been his final dis
miSsal.
Yet how to dispose of the ring was
something OLA puzzle to the unimagi-
native Ashton.
Finally he decided that the thing to
do would be to lose it. But the simple
and obvious methods of Kidding him
self Of it, by casting it from rap
idly moving train, or hurting it into the
ocean from the deck of steamboat,
never so much as entered his head.
Later in the day Ashton dropped
into his friend Jim Benton's office for
chat, and the sight of the trim-look-
ing young woman, industriously pound
ing away upon the typewriting ma
chine, put new idea into his head.
Miss Brown" he asked, shave you
time to address an envelope for me?"
Certainly" replied Miss Brown, fin
ishing the letter she was at work upon
I'M IN,
chine.
Ashton walked over to her side and
told her the address in d low tone.
After thanking Miss Brown, Ashton
hurried from the Office, with the enve
lope safe in his pocket, and back to
the, seclusion of his own room, where
he gave himself up to the pleasant
task Of packing the opal up prepara-
tory to losing it.
He did the ring up in small box,
upon which he pasted the address
which he cut from the envelope.
When Ashton had showed his box
through the slit labeled parcels at
self than he had done for some time.
The next morning, drawn by that
Irresistible influence which is supposed
to draw mnrderers to the scenes Of
their former crimes, often to their own
undoing, Ashton was sauntcring past
packard's jewelry store, when one of
the clerks hailed him with: "AIr. Pack
ara wishes to see you moment"
With sinking heart Ashton meekly
followed the clerk into the store
Mr.. Packard looked at Ashton sharp
" through his spectacles, as he in
CURED: "This is your ring, isn't it?"
Ashton's face grew very red under
the keen scrutiny Of the old man.
Yes" he stammered, pretending to
examine the too-familiar ring which
Mr.. Packard held out to him. I'll
lost it,
"Huhp' calculated the jeweler.
Looks more like theft. 1t came to us
by mail. knew in minute it was
yours, for we never made another one
like it" and he pointed to the Pc
culiar setting.
AT two o'clock that afternoon he
made his way to the Shirley theater,
where there was to be popular-priced
matinee for children. AS he had eX-
pected, there was large crowd col
lected before the entrance. Into this
seething, pushing mass of humanity
Ashton forced his way.
1t seemed an idea! place to lose any
thing, whether one wanted to or not.
When he could advance no farther,
Ashton slipped the ring from his fin
ger, and without so much as CHANGING
at those about him, slylS let it fail |;
then he backed out of the crowd as
rapidly as he could, and hurried from
the scene. ,5fgsS
Early that evening, as he was smoll-
ing Il lonely pipe. and congratulatins
himself upon the fact of his, having ut
last lost his unlucky opal, the door WAS
flung open and Ted, the curly headed
young brother of Marion Hubert, en-
tered. .a,a
Door was open downstairs SO just
came right up" said Ted, nonchalant-
~. Got note from SIS and, max
ing a sudden dive into the depths of
Ills lrOuSeIS pUCket, lie uieW Iulll Il
crumpled note, which he tossed to
Ashton.
Ashton opened it with trembling fin
gers and read:
please come to me this evening.
] wish to restore to you something OF
value which you have lost. MARION"
He got rid of Ted in short order, and
then struggled into evening clothes.
''Poor little girl" he thought, COM
miseratingly. as he FASTENED his prep
arations. "she's had as hard time
of it as / have had, and now she's
given in and sent for me to tell me
that she wishes to make up and restore
herself to me-"
So, when he entered the Hulberts'
parlor, Ashton sprang forward and
clasped her unresisting form in his
arms.
1t was not until triumphant Ash