Her hands fell on the table. She shivered as though she already felt
cold and hunger.

"Suffer torment for a year?" she muttered. "It is impossible. I
can't. I have nothing else. I've sacrificed everything to it--_duty,
friendship, love_!" She leaned her head in her hands, and Ravenal did
not hear the last words.

"Pull yourself together, my child. It is not like you to give way like
this. Listen: Go home now and sit tight. Nerve and a quiet going
about your ways are what are needed for the next few weeks. Don't come
near me unless you have anything important to communicate; then come in
the ordinary way to the shop with some jewel to be mended. But
remember: There is no possible channel through which they can connect
either of us with Hiangeli, and nothing in the world to fear."

"It is not fear I feel," she said dully.

"I know. It is disappointment. You are broken-hearted because the
black diamonds cannot be handed over to you."

She did not speak, but if ever a woman's face betrayed hunger and
passionate longing, hers did at that moment. All her beauty was gone.
There was nothing but a livid mask with two burning eyes. A pitying
look crossed Ravenal's face. He was not an unkindly man.

"Poor child," he said gently, "it's hard on you!" For a moment he
seemed to hesitate, then, coming to a swift decision, rose and went
over to a safe embedded in the wall, and unnoticeable by reason of a
piece of Oriental embroidery pinned above it and a chair standing
carelessly before it. Unlocking it, he brought to the table a small
jewel-case.

"I'll tell you what I'll do. I can't let you have it for good, because
it's not earned yet. Twenty more rough stones are wanted from you
before this is yours. That was the bargain. But, considering all the
circumstances, I'll _lend_ it to you for a while."

Before he had finished speaking she had seized the case from his hands
and pressed it open. A magnificent pendant gleamed up at her with all
the smoky, mysterious beauty of black diamonds.

"I know I can trust you with it, for I have trusted you with more than
that. My life is in your hands, just as much as yours is in mine. So
keep the thing, and finish paying for it when you can. If we're never
able to get any more rough diamonds from the mine, you'll have to pay
in money."

She hardly seemed to hear, so wrapped was she in the contemplation of
her new treasure, brooding and crooning over it like a