"But all the time he wanted the ruby. I found that out when he told me he

must have the money inside of a week; he'd taken it out of his business,

and it really belonged to his partners, and they'd find him out and send

him to prison-"I offered him my jewels. They would have brought half their value at

least. I could have told you they were stolen--only one more lie. It was

then he said he must have the ruby. He had known about it ever since you

came out here, but after he saw it on me that night at the Gwynnes' he

was more than ever determined to have it.

"I laughed at him at first. It seemed preposterous that he could demand a

ruby worth two or three hundred thousand dollars in payment for a debt of

twenty thousand. I thought of selling my jewels and furs and laces, or

pawning them and raising the amount--he only had my I.O.U. for that sum.

But I didn't know where to go. So I told Aileen. She wouldn't hear of my

disposing of my things, said it would, be all over town in twenty-four

hours. She advised me to get the twenty thousand out of you on one

pretext or another.

"I tried. You will remember. Then Nick began to haunt me. He whispered in

my ear wherever we met. I was nearly frantic. He said he could hold me up

to shame without compromising himself. I had written him some frantic

letters, and he said they read just like--like--the other thing.

"I felt perfectly helpless. I knew that even if I did manage to pawn the

jewels, you would miss them from the safe and trace them. I ceased to

feel cool. I nearly went off my head. But I stopped gambling. I felt sure

by this time that he could make me lose, but I couldn't prove it. Aileen

told me I must give him the ruby. He promised me before Aileen that he

would give me back my I.O.U.'s as well as my notes if I would hand over

the ruby. He knew I was to wear it to-night.

"Finally I gave in. Yesterday Nick called me up on the telephone and told

me to come down to the California Market to lunch, and to bring Aileen.

He told me there that unless I promised to give him the ruby to-night,

and kept my word, he'd either give my I.O.U.'s and my notes to you or to

the Merry Tattler. He didn't care which. I could have my choice.




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