ng
lights of the ring on her finger. Then she looked at the loser. "It seems
like robbery," she exclaimed, "to take this old family talisman from you,
Beatriz. I shall make out a check to ease my conscience."

"Oh, no." She lifted her head bravely like his Alaska flower in the bitter
wind. "I shall not accept it. My grandfather believed in the ruby
devoutly," she went on evenly. "It was his birthstone. And since it is
yours too, Marcia, it should bring you better fortune than it has brought
me. But see! The villa roof is finished and stained moss-green as it
should be, against that background of firs. And isn't the big veranda
delightful, with those Venetian blinds?"

The yacht nosed alongside the little stone quay, and preceded by the host,
who was carried ashore in his chair, not without difficulty, by relays of
his crew, the party made the landing.

Tisdale's first impression when he stepped over the threshold of the villa
was of magnitude. A great fireplace built of granite blocks faced the
hospitable entrance, and the interior lifted to the beamed roof, with a
gallery midway, on which opened the upper rooms. The stairs rose easily in
two landings, and the curving balustrade formed a recess in which was
constructed a stage. Near this a pipe organ was being installed. It was
all luxurious, created for entertainment and pleasure, but it lacked the
ostentatious element for which he was prepared.

It had been understood that the visit was made at this time to allow Mrs.
Feversham an opportunity to go through the house. She was to decide on
certain furnishings which she was to purchase in New York, but it was
evident to Tisdale that the items she listed followed the suggestions of
the woman who stood beside her, weighing with subdued enthusiasm the
possibilities of the room. "Imagine a splendid polar-bear rug here," she
said, "with a yellowish lynx at the foot of the stairs, and one of those
fine Kodiak skins in front of the hearth. A couch there in the chimney
corner, with a Navajo blanket and pillows would be color enough."

Morganstein, watching her from his invalid chair, grasped the idea with
satisfaction. "Cut out those Wilton carpets, Marcia," he said. "I'll write
that Alaska hunter, Thompson, who heads the big-game parties, to send me
half a dozen bears. They mount 'em all right in Seattle. Now see what we
are going to need in that east suite up-stairs."

They went trooping up the staircase, but Hollis did n