The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-28

safe and knelt before it. He gave
the combination knob several turns,
and the heavy door swung outward
to a barely audible rumble.
Out of this safe he drew an ordi-
nary canvas bag. such as bankers
use for their silver He emptied it
on the desk at the side of the We
lour. There were four packages in
cotton flannel. He unwound each
and poured glittering cascades upon
the velour.
He smiled and sat down; for an
hour or more he would be the equal
of many rajah.
He scattered the gems about hap
hazardly, just to drink in their beau
ty. Emeralds as tender green as
young grass, rubies that flashed
blood fires, sapphires that ranged
from star to cornflower and pearls
as lovely as the pink cheeks of a
sleeping child.
Stirred by some whimsical fancy.
he picked out Buddha's eye and
slipped it into the gods head. In
stantly the god seemed to palpitate
with life.
cambridge never ceased to marvel
over this strange metamorphosis. Out
came the eye again but Buddha's
smile seemed now to have grateful
qurk in it.
Simon began to hum the "Barca-
role" from the '.Contes d'Hoffman."
He played this regularly on the pho
pograph before going to bed.
The desk occupied a space trifle
to the left of the center of the Ii
brary or study.
The safe stood obliquely at Simons
right; that is, while at play he had
to turn his head slightly to see it.
The photograph was directly in
front of the desk, against a vacant
space in the book shelves. At the
side of the photograph was small
teak stand.
The study ran east and west, with
two doors. The north door led to the
hall; the east door opened on the
dining room.
The first of simons formal acts
over, the second now began. Out of
the unstrung pearls Simon arched
necklaces, tiaras and bracelets. When
these were perfected, he ruthlessiy
demolished them and created new
ones with a generous mixture of en-
eralds and rubies and sapphires. al
ways exquisite in design; for in this
pastime cambridge was the equal of
La Lique.
Inc Time pdSseu Qulchly. Inc
cock over the fireplace chimed again.
Eleven Simon had not heard it
strike ten. The second act had last
ee nearly two hours.
The third act was the counting up.
This practice was unalterable. There
were a hundred and fifty pink pearls,
eighty-four emeralds, sixty sap
phires and ninety-two rubies. He
was separating them into individual
groups when he thought he heard the
east door close. He turned.
That you, Maggie?"
Yes, SIR. It's your matted milk,
sir.''
The maid, a slender willbwy young
woman, with olive skin and sparkling
dark eyes, went past noiseiessly. She
set silver tray on the teak stand,
turned and departed. She was as
graceful as a cat and as soundless.
The master returned to his gems.
The pearls were there. so were the
rubies and the sapphires.
But there were only eighty-th three
emeraldsl
First he sorted the other piles to
see If by some oversight the emer-
aid had slipped in among them.
No. Three times he counted the
green stones. always with the same
result; eighty three.
The emerald the Gaekwar of Ba-
roda had given him, the rarestemer-
aid he possessed, was gone
Thus the great dramatist had con-
fronted simon cambridge with a
fourth act, which necessarily entailed
ffftR. There was a spindle ON the
desk: simon reached for it. Always