"'Ha, ha!' she raved; 'be not afraid, Lal Lu. This royal pest, this insolent prince, will trouble you no more; you will never see him again.' "'Ha!' exclaimed Lal Lu. 'You seem strangely positive. What do you mean?' "'Did you see that scratch which the point of your dagger made upon the wrist of the prince?' "'No,' replied Lal Lu, shrinking from the picture presented to her mind. "'Well,' returned the grim-visaged woman with a return to her customary austerity, 'I did. The wound was slight; only a few easily subdued drops of blood followed; but, believe me, maiden, it will be sufficient.' "'What do you mean?' demanded Lal Lu. "'This,' returned the weird creature with repulsive, evil joy, which she made no attempt to disguise: 'The point of that dagger was steeped in the most deadly poison known in India. In twenty minutes, ha, ha! it is the prince who will be the empty casket.'" * * * * * As the Sepoy reached this point in his narrative he paused with startling abruptness. Raikes, no longer under the influence of the seductive cadences, looked up sharply. "Well?" inquired the Sepoy as he met the inquiring glance of his furtive auditor, "what of the flaw in the sapphire? Can you trace the blemish?" "Devil seize me!" exclaimed Raikes, as he offered, by this apostrophe, an invitation which was certain, at no distant date, to be accepted. "Devil seize me if I have thought of the sapphire!" and he began at once an apologetic inspection of the brilliant with the magnifying glass. "Ha, ha!" laughed the Sepoy. "I must congratulate myself upon my powers of narration." "Aye!" replied Raikes, as he continued his examination of the flaming bauble, "and also upon your irritating habit of concluding at the anxious moment. But see here," and he held the sapphire up to view; "I can see nothing wrong; possibly the light is bad. The searching glare of day is required to discover a blemish such as you speak of." "Suppose you return to-morrow, then, directly after breakfast?" suggested the Sepoy. "I want your judgment. I dare not trust my own; my blindness may be voluntary." "Very well, then," assented Raikes, who, now that he had nothing upon which to fasten his eyes, felt an easily comprehended uneasiness to leave the Sepoy. "I will be here at that time"; and with his customary emotionless adieux the guilty creature slipped through the doorway and speeded like a shriveled shadow along the various passages. As he was about to enter his room he was hailed by his nephew. "Uncle, you wanted to see me." "True," replied Raikes, with a start of recollection, "I do; but suppose we postpone the interview until to-morrow." "Very well," replied the young man easily, and Raikes, entering his room, fastened the door with his usual elaborate precaution. His first movement was to disclose the interior of the recess containing his coin and his conscience.