uld,
doubtless, have been an honest man had he not been led astray by the
villain Hunt, who so nearly compassed your own destruction. He
returned to this island before his death, and made me the sole heir of
all that great fortune which he had gathered--perhaps not by the most
honest means--in the waters of the Indian Ocean. But the greatest
treasure of all that fortune bequeathed to me was a single jewel which
you yourself have just now defended with a courage and a fidelity that
I cannot sufficiently extol. It is that priceless gem known as the
Ruby of Kishmoor. I will show it to you." Hereupon she took the
little ivory ball in her hand, and, with a turn of her beautiful
wrists, unscrewed a lid so nicely and cunningly adjusted that no eye
could have detected where it was joined to the parent globe. Within was
a fleece of raw silk containing an object which she presently displayed
before the astonished gaze of our hero. It was a red stone of about
the bigness of a plover's egg, and which glowed and flamed with such an
exquisite and ruddy brilliancy as to dazzle even Jonathan's
inexperienced eyes. Indeed, he did not need to be informed of the
priceless value of the treasure, which he beheld in the rosy palm
extended toward him. How long he gazed at this extraordinary jewel he
knew not, but he was aroused from his contemplation by the sound of the
lady's voice addressing him. "The three villains," said she, "who have
this day met their deserts in a violent and bloody death, had by an
accident obtained knowledge that this jewel was in my possession.
Since then my life has hung upon a thread, and every step that I have
taken has been watched by these enemies, the most cruel and relentless
that it was ever the lot of any unfortunate to possess. From the
mortal dangers of their machinations you have saved me, exhibiting a
courage and a determination that cannot be sufficiently applauded. In
this you have earned my deepest admiration and regard. I would
rather," she cried, "intrust my life and my happiness to you than into
the keeping of any man whom I have ever known! I cannot hope to reward
you in such a way as to recompense you for the perils into which my
necessities have thrust you; but yet"--and here she hesitated, as
though seeking for words in which to express herself--"but yet if you
are willing to accept of this jewel, and all of the fortune that
belongs to me, together with the person of poor Evaline Ke