Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1917-11-10
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
Hest possible moment.
He had had nothing but i'll luck
| since he owned the thing, the crown
ing piece being his quarrel with his
! flancee, Marion Hubert. She had de-
| clared that the great gem In Its unique
setting was too SNOWY an article OF
| jewelry for n 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 of a puzzle to the unimagi'
native Ashton.
Finally he decided that the thing to
do would be 10 lose It. But the simple
and obvious methods of Kidding him
self of It, by casting It from rap
idly moving train. or hurting 1t 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 Bentons office for
n chat, and the sight of the trm-look-
ing young woman, industriously pound
ing away upon the typewriting ma
chine, put n new idea into his head.
Miss Brown" he asked have you
time to address an envelope for meF'
Certainly" replied Miss Brown, fin
fishing the letter she was at work upon
and inserting an envelope In her ma
chine.
Ashton walked over to her side and
told her the address in low tone.
After thanking Miss Brown, Ashton
hurried from the office, with the enve-
lope safe I'm 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 prepare.
tory to losing 1t.
He did the ring up I'm n 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
the post office. he felt more like him
self than he had done for some time.
The next morning. drawn by that
| irresistible influence which Is supposed
TO draw murdcrcrs to the scenes OF
their former crimes. often to their own
undoing, Ashton was snuntering past
Packard's jewelry store, when one OF
the clerks hailed him with: "Mr. Pack
ard wishes To see you a moment"
with sinking heart Ashton meekly
followed the clerk Into the store.
Mr. Packard looked at Ashton sharp
ly through his spectacles, rs he In
qulred: 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.famllar ring which
Mr.. Packard held out to him. IL
lost It,"
"Huh." calculated the jeweler.
Looks more like theft. II came to us
by mail. l knew In II minute II was
yours, for we never made another one
like It," and he pointed to the pc.
cullar setting.
at two o'clock that afternoon he
made his way to the Shirley theater,
where there was to he II populnr-priced
matinee for children. As he had ex.
pected. there was Il large crowd col
lected before the entrance. Into this
seething, pushing mass Of humanity
Ashton forced his way.
1t seemed an ideal 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 rs glancinl
at those about him, slyly let II fall
then he backed out of the crowd as
rapidly as he could and hurried from
the scene.
Early that evening, as he was smok
ing lonely pipe, and congratulatinl
himself upon the fact of his having n
last lost his unlucky opal, the door wal
flung open and Ted, the curly headed
young brother of Marion Hubert, en-
tered.
door was open downstairs so jus
came right up" said Ted, nonchalnnt
~. scot Il note from SIS" and. max
ing sudden dive into the depths o
his trousers pocket, he drew forth
crumpled note, which he tossed I,
Ashton.
Ashton opened 1t with trembling fin
gers and read:
"Please come to me this evening
. wish to restore to you something o
. value which you have lost MARION.
He got rid of Ted In short order an
:, then struggled into evening clothes.
!. "Poor little girl" he thought, con
miseratingly rs he fastened his PREF
arations. shes had rs hard tim
Of It ms ! have had, and now she
given In and sent for me to tell IN
that she wishes to make up and restOr
herself to me-
A So, when he entered the Hubert
" par,Dr, Ashton sprang forward an
clasped her unresisting form In HI
A arms.
!, II was not until triumphant Asl
ton was bidding blushlng Mario
A good night that that young person +
membered to say: There, came ne,
a. forgetting to return your lost pro
N erty."
- IT supposed that you had alreat
returned H." Ashton replied, with
:, meaning smile.
" "Of course not" Marion pouted.
=. wanted tn give you your opal ring
~ "Where on earth did you get 1t
demanded the amazed Ashton,
~ ~ took my small niece to the tn
y, alter and when reached home foul