"I am greatly annoyed myself," said Dane, frowning. "Akira should not have acted in the way he did without consulting me."
"You would not have given your consent to the experiment," said Patricia.
"Certainly not. Mara is too highly strung to be subjected to these things, and might easily lose her reason. It is just as well that we have decided6 not to tell my uncle. He would be furious, and then there would be trouble with Akira, who has not the best of tempers under his cool exterior7. But why do you call it an experiment?"
"Can't you see?"
"No! I merely think that Akira wished to give us a specimen8 of Japanese music, and it influenced Mara, as you saw. Perhaps we have been too hard on Akira, and he did not know what she would do."
"If he did not intend something to happen, why did he throw that incense on the fire?" asked Patricia meaningly.
"I can't say, unless it was to heighten the dramatic effect of his silly nonsense," retorted Basil, whose temper was still hot.
"It was to revive Mara's memory."
"About what?"
"About her past life in Japan."
Basil stared at her. "Surely, Miss Carrol, you don't believe in what Akira said last night?" he observed, with some displeasure and stiffly.
"Don't you?" Patricia looked at him keenly, and the young sailor grew red.
"Well," he said, at length, "there is no doubt that much common-sense is to be found in the belief of reincarnation. I have been so long in the East that I don't scoff9 at it so much as Western people do. All the same, I do not go so far as to say that I entirely10 believe in it. But you--you who have never been east of Suez--you can't possibly credit the fact that Mara some hundreds of years ago was a priestess in Japan?"
Patricia looked straight out of the window at the azure11 sea, and the bright line of the distant horizon. "I dislike these weird12 things," she said, after a pause. "They are uncomfortable to believe, and since I have known your brother Theodore I dislike them more than ever, as he makes bad use of what he knows. I am certain of that."
"Does he really know anything?" asked Basil, sceptically.
"Yes," said Patricia decidedly. "I really believe he has certain powers, although they are not so much on the surface as mine. Everyone--according to him--has these powers latent, but they require to be developed. I don't want mine to be brought to the surface, as my own idea is to live a quiet and ordinary life."
Basil's eyes had a look in them which asked if she wished to live her ordinary life alone. All he said, however, was: "I quite agree with you."
Patricia nodded absently, being too much taken up with her own thoughts to observe his expression. "As I therefore have a belief in such things," she continued, "and a belief which has been more or less proved to my mind, by the strange feelings I experienced while holding the Mikado Jewel, I see no reason to doubt the doctrine13 of reincarnation. That seems to me better than anything else to answer the riddle14 of life. Mara is certainly, as you must admit, a strange girl."
"Very strange indeed," assented15 Basil readily; "unlike other girls."
"She has always--so she told me," went on Patricia steadily16, "been trying to remember her dreams, by which, I think, she means her previous lives. She could never grasp them until last night. Then the music and the incense brought back her memories. They opened the doors, in fact, which, to most people--you and I, for instance--are closed."
"Then you really believe she lived in Japan centuries ago?" asked Basil, in rather an awed17 tone.
"Yes, I do," replied Miss Carrol firmly; "although I know that many people would laugh if I said so. This morning Mara is staying in bed and will not speak much. But I gather that the past has all returned to her. Remember how she loved to hear Count Akira's stories, and how she followed him about. He noticed that, and so acted as he did last night."
"But why did he think of the Miko dance in connection with Mara?"
"Theodore confessed to me--oh"--Patricia blushed--"I should not call him by his Christian18 name."
The young man suppressed a pang19 of jealousy20. "I dare say you do so because you hear us all calling one another by our Christian names. I often wonder," he added cautiously, "that you do not call me Basil."
Patricia blushed still deeper, and waived21 the question. "I have to tell you what your brother said," she remarked stiffly. "He related to Count Akira how Mara danced in that weird manner when she smelt22 certain incense. That gave the Count a hint, and he acted upon it, as you saw." She paused, then turned to face Basil. "What is to be done now?"
The sailor had already made up his mind. "In the first place, my uncle must not be told, as he would make trouble. In the second, I shall take Akira to Hendle to-day sightseeing, so that he may not meet Mara. In the third, I shall hint that it would be as well, seeing the effect his presence has on Mara, that he should terminate his visit. Do you approve?"
"Yes," said Patricia, nodding. "You are taking the most practical way out of the difficulty. There is one thing I am afraid of, however?"
"What is that?"
"Mara may fall in love with Count Akira, if, indeed, she is not in love with him already."
"What! with that Japanese?" cried Basil furiously, and his racial hatred23 became pronounced at once. "That would never do. She must not see him again."
"He is bound to return here, so she must see him."
"Can't you keep her in her room until Akira goes?"
Patricia shook her head. "Mara is difficult to manage. However, although she may love the Count, he may not care for her. Let us hope so. All we can do is to act as you suggest. Now I must go and see after the dinner."
Basil would have liked to detain her, to talk on more absorbing topics. But the question of Mara and her oddities was so very prominent, that he decided against chatting about more personal matters. With a sigh he watched her disappear, and then went away to seek out Akira and take him out of the house for a few hours.
The Japanese, with all his astuteness24, did not fathom25 the reason why he was asked to drive round the country, and willingly assented. He asked a few careless questions about Mara, but did not refer to the scene of the previous night. Basil, on his side, was acute enough to let sleeping dogs lie, so the pair started off about noon for their jaunt26 in a friendly fashion. They talked of this thing and that, and all round the shop--as the saying is--but neither one referred to the scene of the previous night. Yet a vivid memory of that was uppermost in Basil's mind, and--as he very shrewdly suspected--was present also in the thoughts of Akira. But judging from the man's composure and conversation he had quite forgotten what had taken place. Basil was pleased with this reticence27, as it saved him the unpleasantness of explaining himself too forcibly.
Meanwhile, Patricia drew a long breath of relief when Basil drove away with the Japanese diplomatist, and she went at once to see if Mara was all right. The girl, feeling drowsy28, was disinclined to chatter29, but lay back with a smile of ecstasy30 on her pale face. Her lips were moving, although she did not open her eyes, and Patricia bent31 to hear if she required anything. But all that Mara was saying amounted to a reiteration32 that she had recalled the past. Doubtless, since the door was now wide open, she was in fancy dwelling33 again in her Oriental home. However, she was quite happy, so Miss Carrol, seeing that her presence was not necessary to the girl's comfort, stole on tip-toe out of the room.
It was when she came downstairs that she chanced upon Theodore in the entrance hall. The big man looked both startled and surprised, and spoke34 to her in an excited tone.
"Come into my uncle's library at once, Miss Carrol," he said, touching35 her arm. "It has come."
"What has come?" naturally asked Miss Carrol, puzzled by his tone and look.
"It came by post," went on Theodore breathlessly, "and was not even registered. There is not a line with it to show who sent it."
"I don't know what you are talking about, Mr. Dane."
"Uncle wants you to hold it again in your hand and see if you can feel the drawing-power you spoke of. Come! Come quickly!"
At last Patricia knew what he meant and her face grew white. "Have you the Mikado Jewel?" she asked, leaning against the wall, faint and sick.
For answer Theodore unceremoniously led her into the library, and she saw Mr. Colpster standing36 near the window, gloating over something which he held in his hand. As he moved to face the girl, a vivid green ray shot through the subdued37 light of the large room.
"Look! Look!" cried the Squire38, stuttering in his excitement, and he held up the jade39 chrysanthemum40 with the emerald flashing in its centre, as the sunlight caught its many facets41.
"The Mikado Jewel!" gasped42 Patricia, and her legs refused to sustain her any longer. She sank into a chair. "How--how did you get it?"
"It came by post--by the mid-day post," explained the Squire, repeating what his nephew had said earlier. "Just carelessly wrapped up in brown paper and directed to me. Not even registered, and packed in a small tin box tied round with string. The postmark is London, so it must have been sent through the General Post Office. No district name is stamped on the covering. Oh, wonderful! wonderful! The luck of the Colpsters has returned."
"But who sent it?" asked Patricia, looking with ill-concealed repugnance44 at the sinister45 gem46, which had indirectly47 brought about the death of Mrs. Pentreddle. "The man who committed the crime?"
"No, no!" struck in Theodore impatiently; "that's impossible. The assassin of poor Martha never had it in his possession, although, as we know, he hunted the house to find it. The thief who snatched it from you in the Park, Miss Carrol, must have repented48 and sent it to its rightful owner."
"And I am its rightful owner," said the Squire, drawing up his spare form to its full height. "This gem belonged to my ancestor, and it is only fair that I should possess it."
Patricia could not approve of this speech, as she knew from Colpster's own lips that Sir Bevis had given it to Queen Elizabeth in exchange for his knighthood. But she knew, also, that it was useless to argue with the Squire, as he appeared to be obsessed49 by the Jewel, to which he ascribed such fantastical powers. Nothing, she was convinced, would ever make him give it up, and she was confirmed in this opinion by his next words.
"Say nothing to Basil, or Akira, about the arrival of the emerald," he said hurriedly to his companions. "I don't trust that Japanese. He thinks that the Jewel belongs to the Temple of Kitzuki."
"So it does," remarked Patricia quickly.
Colpster snarled50, and his face became quite ugly and animal in its anger, when he turned on her sharply. "It belongs to me! to me! to me!" he cried vehemently51, and pressed the Jewel close to his breast. "I shall never give it up; never, never, never. Tell Akira at your peril52."
"I don't intend to say a word to the Count," said Patricia, retreating a step before his malignant53 expression. "It is none of my business. But if you are wise you will throw it away."
"Why? Why? Why?" chattered54 Colpster, still angry at her opposition55, and perhaps pricked56 in his conscience by her words.
"I think it will bring evil upon you. You shouldn't let it come into the house," she panted, and felt that what she said was true.
Theodore started and grew pale. Granny Lee had used almost the same words when he had asked her about the possible danger. The old woman had refused to say what the danger was, or perhaps--as she stated--she could not put a name to it. But after hearing Patricia's remark, Theodore felt that perhaps the Mikado Jewel had been referred to as "It." Granny Lee had said plainly: "Don't let It come into the house!" And now this girl, who also possessed57 certain powers, declared that it should not be allowed to remain under the roof lest it should bring evil in its train.
"You are talking rubbish," said Theodore roughly, and trying to conceal43 his dismay. "How can that jewel hurt anyone?"
"I don't know; I can't say; but it should not be allowed to remain here."
Squire Colpster laughed and laid the lovely thing down on his desk, where it flashed gloriously in a ray of sunshine. "It shall remain here always and bring good fortune to the family," he said vaingloriously.
Patricia, impelled58 by some outside power, rose and went up to lay a warning hand on the old man's arm. "There is something wrong," she urged. "Consider, Mr. Colpster! How could the thief have sent the jewel to you unless he knew more about the matter than we think? If an ordinary tramp stole it, he would have pawned59 it; if a priest of the temple took it, he would have carried it, as Mr. Theodore suggested, back to Japan. Why is it sent to you?"
"I don't know. That is what puzzles me," said Colpster, and his mouth grew more obstinate60 than ever. "But I'm going to keep it, anyhow."
"What do you say?" Miss Carrol turned to Theodore.
The big man winced61 and grew a shade whiter, for the warning of Granny Lee still haunted his mind. But the sight of the Jewel, and the knowledge that he might one day possess it, awoke all his covetous62 nature, and he could not make up his mind to suggest that it should be sent away. And, after all, the "It" to which Brenda Lee referred might not be this gem. "I say keep it," he remarked, drawing a deep breath. "The luck of the family is bound up in it, I am certain."
"The bad luck of the family," said Patricia bitterly.
"Oh, you have been listening to Akira," said the Squire crossly. "He declared that probably the power had been changed. How he could know when he never set eyes on the jewel I can't imagine. I admit that it is very strange that it should have been sent to me, and I can't conceive how the thief either obtained my address, or how he knew that I wanted his plunder63."
"He might read in the papers----" began Theodore, only to be stopped by his uncle, who looked at him sharply.
"You talk rubbish, my boy. I said nothing at the inquest about my interest in the jewel, and no one outside our own family knew that I desired it.
"I shouldn't wonder if Akira knew," said Theodore quickly.
"Impossible. You have heard all he had to tell. All the same, it will be as well to say nothing about our recovery of the gem while he is in the house. I have your promise, Miss Carrol?"
"Yes. I shall say nothing."
"And you, Theodore? Good. Don't even tell Mara or Basil, else they may let out something to that infernal Japanese. I shall lock the jewel in my safe yonder," and he pointed64 to a green-painted safe, standing in an alcove65 of the room. "Now we shall see the luck returning! I shall win that lawsuit66; I shall sell that ruined hay to advantage; I shall----"
Patricia stopped him. "I believe everything will go wrong with you."
"How dare you say that, girl!" exclaimed Colpster furiously.
"Because I feel that I must. That jewel has been sent to you for no good purpose, I am convinced."
"Your sixth sense again, I suppose," scoffed67 the Squire angrily.
"Perhaps," said Patricia simply. Privately she believed that the Jewel was already beginning to do harm, since the old man behaved so rudely. As a rule he had always treated her with politeness, but now he revealed a side to his character which she had not seen. His eyes shone with greed, and he showed all the instincts of a miser68. Looking at her and then glancing at his nephew, he continued to speak to her.
"Hold this in your hand and see if you still feel the drawing-power you spoke of."
In silence Patricia took the cold jade blossom, and it lay outstretched on her pink palm. She did not speak, but a bewildered expression gradually took possession of her face. The two men, who were watching her closely, both spoke together, moved by a single impulse.
"What do you feel?"
Patricia did not reply directly. "This is not the Mikado Jewel," she said in breathless tones. "I am sure it is not."
The Squire became pale and Theodore looked amazed. "What makes you think that?" demanded the latter, who was first able to command his voice.
"The drawing-power is reversed in this jewel," said Patricia. "Yes! oh, yes! I feel it quite plainly. Instead of the power radiating and keeping away evil, it is drawing danger towards itself."
"Danger?" gasped the Squire, and his nephew, mindful of Granny Lee's warning, winced visibly. "Danger and darkness. Wave after wave of fear is coming towards me, while I hold the stone, and the darkness is swallowing me up. Oh!" Patricia shivered and deliberately69 dropped the jewel on the floor. "Take it away! I don't like it at all."
Colpster picked up the gem. "Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have let the emerald fall otherwise," said Patricia, who was now trembling as if with cold. "When I last held it waves of light went out, and I felt absolutely safe. Now tides of darkness press in on me on every side, and there is a sense of danger everywhere."
"What sort of danger?" asked Theodore nervously70.
"I can't say; I can't put my feelings into words. It looks like the Mikado Jewel, but it can't be, when it feels so different."
"I am certain that it is the Mikado Jewel!" cried Colpster angrily.
"Whether it is or not I can't say," retorted Patricia, backing towards the library door, "but it is dangerous. Get rid of it, or suffer." And she went quickly out of the room, leaving the two men staring at one another.
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1
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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distressed
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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scoff
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| n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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pang
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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waived
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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astuteness
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| n.敏锐；精明；机敏 | |
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fathom
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jaunt
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reticence
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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ecstasy
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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reiteration
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| n. 重覆, 反覆, 重说 | |
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dwelling
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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touching
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standing
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subdued
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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chrysanthemum
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| n.菊，菊花 | |
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facets
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| n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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covetous
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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64
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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66
lawsuit
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| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
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67
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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