you not?'

"'Yes, O prince,' replied Ram Lal, abashed at this cynical embargo upon
the melancholy luxury of his rhythms; 'yes, and it is of her I would
speak.'

"'Speak,' urged his august hearer.

"After a moment's reflection, in the manner of the unwelcome envoy who
has reached the acute juncture of his recital and is about to
disembarrass himself of a dangerous climax, the merchant continued in
sordid Hindustani:

"'As I have said, O prince, my daughter has been taken from me, and I
come to you in my extremity.'

"'And why to me, Ram Lal?' demanded the prince, with a gleam in his
glance which was directly responsible for the pacific presentation which
followed.

"'Because,' replied the merchant with discerning irreverence, 'if it so
please your highness, your providence is practical, and the ways of
Vishnu are tedious.'

"'Ah!' exclaimed the prince appreciatively; 'that was not so bad for a
merchant; but to the point.'

"'Little can occur in this cantonment that is not known to your
highness, or that cannot be determined if you so desire.

"'I ask your august assistance, and I have, as you will see, observed
the proprieties in making my request.

"'It is a time-honored custom for the suppliant to signalize his
appreciation of the importance of the favor he solicits, is it not so?'

"'I did not know,' replied the prince, 'that commerce could develop such
an oracle; it is a subtle sense of fitness you express. I am interested.
Proceed.'

"'I will, your highness,' responded Ram Lal, as he inserted his hand in
one of the folds of the sash which encircled his waist. 'You recall the
stone of Sardis?'

"'Ah!' exclaimed the prince, his cynical listlessness transformed at
once into the abandon of eagerness. 'What of it, O merchant?'

"'This,' replied the latter as he withdrew his hand from his sash, 'if
your highness will deign to examine it,' and the speaker extended toward
the incredulous prince a small box of shagreen, which the latter
clutched with the grasp of avarice.

"'Will his highness deign?' repeated Ram Lal to himself with bitter
irony as the prince pressed back the lid and exposed to view a
magnificent sapphire, the gleam and the glitter of which affected him
like an intoxication.

"As the prince, oblivious to all else, fixed his avid glance upon the
scintillant stone, an astonishing change transformed the merchant from
the suppliant to a being of marked dignity of bearing and carriage.

"