hed and concerned.

Reassured, I drew forth the heavy buckskin bag and placed it in
Nicholas Jelnik's hands.

"From Hynds House--and me--and oh, Nicholas, from Beautiful Dog,
too!" I said, and laughed and cried.

For the moment he didn't understand. He thought it some loving
woman-foolishness of Sophy's, some woman-gift she had made for him.
I knew, for he gave me a glance of tenderness. And then he opened
the bag, and staggered like a drunken man, and sank into the nearest
chair, trembling like a leaf in the wind. The Hynds fortune had come
back to the last of Richard's blood.

When the mist cleared from my eyes, I saw old Achmet on the floor,
with his hands upraised and tears running down his black cheeks
like rain, unashamedly and unaffectedly pouring out praises and
thanksgivings to his Creator.

"Hold out your skirts, Sophy!" cried Nicholas Jelnik, and poured the
glittering things into my lap, boyishly. He was beautiful again,
radiant and young-eyed as the choiring cherubim. There were two
exquisite, pear-shaped ear-ring drops among the Hynds jewels, and
these he took, threaded upon my chain on either side the broken
coin, and hung around my neck. He held a ruby against my lip and
turquoises near my eyes, and laughed.

"These for Hynds House, Sophy!" he cried, and laughed again to see
my lips tremble. "What? It is not these you want? Choose for
yourself, then. I promised you the best of them, you know."

"I want none of them," I said.

"No? Take them, then, Achmet, and put them away," said Mr. Jelnik,
in a matter-of-fact voice. "You will guard them for me, for the time
being. And tell Daoud I have changed my mind about sending him away.
He can change his about shaving his beard, and save himself the
trouble of begging his way to Mecca."

I stood up in silence, and held out my skirt apron-wise, while The
Jinnee as silently removed the Hynds jewels. Then he tied the
buckskin bag, concealed it in a fold of his robe, and left the room.

"Now, Sophy," said Mr. Jelnik, facing me, "you offered Hynds House
to me once, and I refused it because I didn't have the price. I told
you at the time that if ever I had the Hynds jewels in my
possession, I might be tempted to make you an offer of exchange. I
am going to make you an offer now. I should like to live in Hynds
House, Sophy. I don't think I could be happy anywhere else. You see,
Sophy, I'm going to spend the rest of my life here in America,
become an American