Page:The Yellow Book - 08.djvu/138

He strode to my side. "I am some judge of character," he remarked, in a tone quite innocent of egoism, speaking as if he were stating an incontrovertible fact. "You believe in the good and wise God?"

"Really," I began.

"Yet," he swept on, "you will hinder the revelation He has promised to mankind."

"Do you refer to me, or to the paper?" I asked gently. It was clear I had to deal with a religious fanatic.

"Yours is a great journal," he continued, ignoring my question. "You are the Editor! You wield power! You are not rich! Procure for me the Enchanted Stone, and I will give you two, three, five thousand pounds."

With that he drew from an outer pocket a bundle of bank notes, and flung them upon the table. They were for £1000 each, and undoubtedly genuine.

"Replace those, please," I said. "This is not a private enquiry office. Now let us understand one another. I gather that a poor old gentleman, the present Raja of Pepperthala, who is now lodging at Buckingham Palace, by Her Majesty's invitation, has in his possession a valuable stone which you assert is your property, you being the lineal descendant of the rightful owners, who centuries past were Rajas of Pepperthala. You also state that this gem was stolen some hundreds of years ago by a Mohammedan chief at the time of the invasion of India; that the said stone has brought nothing but trouble and disaster to its various owners; that the present possessor has in a moment of generosity determined to present this ill-omened and unlucky gem to Her Majesty, and that he has travelled to England for that purpose. Further, you are so anxious to get possession of the gem as to offer me a bribe of £5000 if I succeed in restoring it to you. Now, before I move astep