ng the
other's attention, in order to analyze its peculiar influence.

"May I ask," he ventured after a few inhalations of his vicarious smoke,
"may I ask the nature of your business?"

"Surely," replied the other. "I am a collector."

"Of what?" inquired Raikes, dissatisfied with the ambiguity of the
answer.

"Sapphires," said the Sepoy.

"Ah!" cried Raikes.

"Yes," continued the other, regarding the kindling glance of the
avaricious Raikes with a quick, penetrating look that was not without
its effect upon the latter; "yes, and I have had many beautiful
specimens in my time."

"But where is your establishment?" asked Raikes.

"Wherever I chance to be," was the reply.

"Still," ventured Raikes, astonished at this curious rejoinder, "you
have some safe depository for such valuables."

"Doubtless," replied the other drily; "but I have a few in my room now,
and, by the way, they are pretty fair specimens."

"Ah!" cried Raikes. "May I see them?"

"Why not?" assented the Sepoy. "In the meantime," he continued, as he
inserted his hand in his waistcoat pocket, "what do you think of this?"
and describing a glittering semicircle in the air with some brilliant
object he held in his grasp, he deposited upon the table a sapphire of
such extraordinary size and beauty, that Raikes, able as he was to
realize the great value of this gleaming condensation, stared stupidly
at it for a moment, and then, with a cry of almost gibbering avarice,
caught the gem in his trembling hands and burglarized it with his greedy
eyes.

As Raikes, oblivious of all else, continued to gaze upon the brilliant
with repulsive fascination, a peculiar change transformed the face of
the Sepoy.

He directed upon the unconscious countenance of his companion a glance
of terrible intensity, moving his hands the while in a weird, sinuous
rhythm, until presently, satisfied with the vacant expression which had
replaced the eager look of the moment before in the eyes of the
tremulous Raikes, the Sepoy began, with an indescribably easy, somnolent
modulation, the following strange recital:

(To be continued on Dickey No. 2.)

* * * * *

"Thunder and lightning!" cried Dennis as he reached the exasperating
announcement in italics at the bottom of the dickey back:

"Continued on Dickey No. 2."

"What th' div--now, what do you think of that? An' it's me crazy to hear
what that meerschaum-colored divil was a-g