,
when he learned my father's name, he declared he had never heard it
before."

"What do you make out of that?"

"Well, it strikes me that this man recognized the ring as one he had
seen before."

Bart nodded with satisfaction.

"Just the way I figured it out, old man!"

"He did not seem so anxious to learn the history of the ring, although
he pretended that it was his wish to know the history of every ring
that came into his possession. In this case he seemed far more anxious
to discover how I came to have it."

"And so he must already know its history?"

"Yes."

"What do you know about it yourself, Frank?"

"Not much," was the serious reply. "You know I once told you that my
father was much away from home, traveling in the West, where he claimed
to have business interests, and it was not till after his death that we
knew what his business actually was--that of a note broker--with a
passion for gambling?"

"Yes, I remember all this."

"In his wanderings, father somehow got hold of that ring, and it is
pretty certain that he considered it very valuable, for he sent it to
mother, and wrote her to guard it faithfully, and not to let it part
from her on any consideration. He said that he would come for it some
day; but he never did. When mother died, she gave me the ring, telling
me to keep it always. That is as much of the ring's history as is
known to me."

"And that is just enough to make the thing a decided mystery. I have
heard of magic rings used by East Indian fakirs and magicians. Perhaps
this is one of those rings."

Frank smiled a bit, and shook his head.

"Hardly that, I think," he said. "From its appearance, I should say
this ring was made by some crude workman in the West."

"In, that case, what can there be about it that is mysterious or
valuable?"

"You have asked me something I cannot answer."

"Let's look at the thing."

Bart held out his hand, and Frank removed the ring from his finger,
handing it over.

"It slips off altogether too easily," said Hodge. "I should think you
would fear losing it."

"It does come off easy, and, for that reason, I have not worn it much
till of late."

"Yes; I never noticed it on your hand till a short time ago."

"I have kept it among my valuables."

Hodge looked the ring all over, examining it slowly and carefully.

"There doesn't seem to be anything about it to make a fellow think it
so very mysterious," he said, with a shade of d