"Are you going to wear your sapphire, Uncle Paul!" she cried in a tone
of dismay. "Oh, why not the ruby?"

"You _would_ have your way about the table decorations," I gently
reminded her. "With that service of Crown Derby _repousse_ and orchids,
the ruby would look absolutely barbaric. Now if you would have had the
Limoges set, white candles, and a yellow silk centre--"

"Oh, but--I'm _so_ disappointed--I wanted the bishop to see your
ruby--or one of your engraved gems--"

"My dear, it is on the bishop's account I put this on. You know his
daughter is heiress of the great Valdez sapphire--"

"Of course she is, and when he has the charge of a stone three times as
big as yours, what's the use of wearing it? The ruby, dear Uncle Paul,
_please_!"

She was desperately in earnest I could see, and considering the
obligations which I am supposed to be under to her and Tom, it was but a
little matter to yield, but it involved a good deal of extra trouble.
Studs, sleeve-links, watch-guard, all carefully selected to go with the
sapphire, had to be changed, the emerald which I chose as a compromise
requiring more florid accompaniments of a deeper tone of gold; and the
dinner hour struck as I replaced my jewel case, the one relic left me of
a once handsome fortune, in my fireproof safe.

The emerald looked very well that evening, however. I kept my eyes upon
it for comfort when Miss Panton proved trying.

She was a lean, yellow, dictatorial young person with no conversation. I
spoke of her father's celebrated sapphires. "_My_ sapphires," she
amended sourly; "though I am legally debarred from making any profitable
use of them." She furthermore informed me that she viewed them as
useless gauds, which ought to be disposed of for the benefit of the
heathen. I gave the subject up, and while she discoursed of the work of
the Blue Ribbon Army among the Bosjesmans I tried to understand a
certain dislocation in the arrangement of the table. Surely we were more
or less in number than we should be? Opposite side all right. Who was
extra on ours? I leaned forward. Lady Landor on one side of Tom, on the
other who? I caught glimpses of plumes pink and green nodding over a
dinner plate, and beneath them a pink nose in a green visage with a
nutcracker chin altogether unknown to me. A sharp gray eye shot a
sideway glance down the table and caught me peeping, and I retreated,
having only marked in addition two clawlike hands, with pointed ruff