family, as they would then lose their powers. I know that the fancy
seems strange to you, and, no doubt, you think I am not exactly sane;
but I have proved the power of the ring so often, that I know its
virtues, and believe in them. I may be able to satisfy you of its value
by a practical demonstration yet."

I saw that he was not insane, but terribly superstitious, so I made no
further remarks about the ring. He drew his chair closer toward me, and
said in a low, painful whisper:

"Mr. Pinkerton, I have positive knowledge that _Annie has attempted to
poison me three times_. She put poison in that ale; she afterwards gave
me some in a cup of coffee; and, the third time, it was administered so
secretly, that I do not know when I took it. The first time, I recovered
because the dose was too large, and I vomited up the poison so soon that
it had not time to act. The second time, I took only a sip of the
coffee, and found that it tasted bitter, so I threw it away, though the
little I had taken distressed me exceedingly. The third time, I nearly
died, and it was only by the prompt attendance of a physician that I was
saved. He said it was a metal poison which probably came off from a
copper kettle in which some fruit had been cooked. Neither he, nor any
one else, ever suspected that I had been poisoned intentionally. When I
recovered, I accused Annie of trying to poison me; she denied it
vehemently at first, but I said to her:

"'Annie, the ring tells me that I have an enemy near me, and you must be
that enemy.'

"I spoke as if positive of her guilt, and, as she is a firm believer in
the ring, she finally burst into tears and confessed having given me
poison at three different times. On her knees, she begged my
forgiveness, and thanked God that my life had been spared. She was so
broken down by the thought of her unnatural and wicked purpose, that I
feared that she would have a relapse into sickness. She seemed so wholly
contrite, that I thought she would never undertake such a terrible crime
again, and I freely forgave her."

I looked at the Captain in perfect amazement, hardly able to credit my
own senses.

"Can it be possible," I asked, "that your sister admitted that she had
tried to poison you?"

"Yes," replied the Captain; "and she said that Pattmore had encouraged
her to put me out of the way. He had told her that he would marry her
when his wife, (who was now dying) was dead; that I was bitterly opposed
to