L. T. Meade

“ Go and stop them. That dream was sent to me—was sent to me. Kort would stop at nothing—nothing—and Banpfylde is his tool. I feel it—I am certain of it. Oh, Dr. Cato, won't you have pity on me? Will you not go downstairs and find out for yourself if the safe is untampered with?”
“Very well,” I answered; “if you will only lie down and remain quiet I will go and see and bring you word.”
“You will? You promise?” he cried. “You would not break your word to a dying man?”
“I would break my word to no man,” I answered. “Trust me, Sherwin. I will go down as quickly as possible and come back to you.” ”

“ Cato, I will come to your Club, I will accept a favour from a man like Kort, I will put myself under your treatment, for the sole and only reason that I want to perfect my discovery, I want to handle riches, I want to be known to futurity as the man who re-discovered the crystallization of sesquioxide of aluminium, and I want to revenge myself on my enemy. ”

“ May I ask what you two gentlemen have really come for to-day?”
“I heard you were ill, no matter how, no matter when,” said Kort. “Dr. Cato and I are anxious to relieve you. We wish you to come to the Sanctuary Club.”
“I have heard of your place,” said Sherwin, looking at me, “but it is only meant for the rich; I am a poor man.”
“We can manage that,” said Kort, emphatically. “The treatment is the one treatment in the world for you, and we have both come here to-day in order to implore of you to accept our hospitality and become our guest at the Sanctuary Club.” ”

“ I happened at that moment to glance at Chetwynd, who was still bending over the gem, peering into the crystal, and examining it with the deepest interest. His face looked full of queer excitement.
“What do you suppose the value of that sapphire would be if it were extracted?” asked Kort, suddenly, of Banpfylde. Up to the present he had not uttered a word. Banpfylde turned and stared at him.
“Nearer forty than thirty thousand pounds,” he exclaimed. “By the way, Mr. Sherwin,” he continued, “do you feel inclined to part with it? It will make you a rich man.” ”

“ Banpfylde listened attentively, his eyes still riveted upon the stone. Chetwynd took out a note-book, and jotted down the words as Sherwin uttered them.
“Now, what do you suppose this all means?” asked Chetwynd. “Have you heard any interpretation of that queer jargon?”
“Never,” answered Sherwin; “but I have made an interpretation for myself. Of that, however, I am not disposed to speak. What do you think of the legend, Mr. Banpfylde?”
“I think,” replied the dealer, “that the words are mere nonsense, invented to keep thieves from touching the gem. ”

“ He is awfully keen about it,” he added, in a whisper.
“Show him the crystal to-morrow,” I said, laying my hand on his wrist. “Look here, you are feverish: do be rational and go to bed.”
“I tell you I could not sleep, and I am most anxious to get Banpfylde's opinion with regard to the Diana; he is a great authority. He has heard of the gem, of course, but has never seen it.”
“Very well, it is your property,” I said; “we will go down. By the way, have you any objection to Chetwynd accompanying us?”
“None whatever,” replied Sherwin; “I should like you to see the Diana Sapphire, Dr. Chetwynd.” ”

“ The sapphire, for instance, has already been made by artificial means. Come, you don't believe me—you shall see for yourself.”
He went across to the safe, unlocked it, and pulled open the heavy doors, then he lifted out with an apparent effort an enormous mass of solid glass, the shape of an immense pear; it was twice the size of a man's head, and must have weighed about 3olb. He laid this glass globe down very gently on the table. I gazed at it with the most intense curiosity, for in the centre of the mass, towards the tapering end, was embedded the most enormous sapphire I had ever seen. ”

“ If I succeed in crystallizing the sesquioxide of aluminium, I shall have effected a revolution in the precious stone trade and secured a fortune for myself. You will say, what does a dying man want with a fortune? But I have my secret reasons for wishing to acquire it. Without money I am powerless; with it I can institute a lawsuit against one of the greatest scoundrels of modern times. You see, therefore, how essential it is that my life should be prolonged.”
Looking at him as he spoke, I began to think that Kort was right, and that he really was not quite responsible for his actions. ”

“ Before I could even cry out or utter a word the man had sprung upon me, and brought me by the suddenness and violence of the attack to the floor. His great hand was upon my throat, and I saw his bloodshot eyes within an inch of mine. I tried to shout for help, but with one of his hands crushing my throat I could not utter a word. The next instant, with the other hand, he slipped from his coat-pocket a short jemmy, and brought it down upon my head with all his force. ”

“ We all entered the laboratory and I switched on the electric light.
When Sherwin saw that Kort was also in the room, he said in a low voice to the latter: “You have seen the gem before, but if you do not find it irksome to look at it again, pray remain.”
“I shall not find it irksome,” answered Kort; his eyes shone with a queer light, he came and stood near Sherwin. We all clustered round the safe; I unlocked it, and lifting out the great glass globe, laid it on the bench. ”

“ I replied, “but I have heard of it, of course.”
“Up to the present,” he continued, a flush of excitement coming into his cheeks, “the only gem which has been made artificially is the diamond. Now, please listen—the sapphire, ruby, topaz, emerald, and amethyst are all of the same chemical composition, the colouring ingredients alone differentiating them—corundum, it is called—sesquioxide of aluminium, you know. If that could be crystallized, priceless gems could be made—real ones, mark you, not imitations. ”

“ But the anxiety on the man's face whenever he thought himself unwatched was very marked, and Kort once said to me: “I do not believe in Banpfylde's wealth.”
“But he is a millionaire,” I replied.
“So he says, but what are words, time will prove. He is consumed by anxiety; men of his calibre have only one great subject of anxiety, the loss or the making of money. He has become great friends with Sherwin, however, which seems natural enough, as they are both so much interested in gems.” ”

“ An uncle of hers had the crystal containing the stone in his possession, and gave it to her on his death-bed, on the sole condition that she and her descendants would always keep the sapphire unbroken in its crystal bed. It was brought over to England when my grandfather settled here, and was given to me by my father on his death-bed as the most precious thing he could bestow upon me. Many times I have been tempted to break the glass globe and release the gem, but I shall never do so. Experts before now have gazed at this wonderful stone, and they tell me that it is of priceless value. ”

“ Kort took up a fragment of glass which still remained on the floor, examined it carefully, and laid it down.
“But there is something still stranger to be explained,” continued Chetwynd, “and with regard to that I have formed no theory at present.”
“To what do you allude?” asked Kort.
“I allude to the strange way in which Banpfylde opened the safe. That was no work of an ordinary jewel dealer. It was something beyond all burglars' resources. See for yourselves: the lock has been melted out with this Bunsen burner—look, the blowpipe junction runs to that oxygen cylinder—a cut above drills. ”

“ It needs but a bad fit of hemorrhage to settle him—he is not following out our directions, either, as he ought. He spends too much time with Banpfylde.”
“Oh, I have no doubt they have a great deal in common,” I replied; “they are both professional gem fanciers.”
“It is my opinion,” said Chetwynd, “that Banpfylde is picking his brains. He absolutely dogs his footsteps. ”

“ Little did they guess as they looked at him that Kort was one of the keenest vivisectors of the day, the valued collaborator of Parker in some of his latest advances, and that those white,. tapering fingers, which could bring music of the finest order out of more than one instrument, could also wrestle effectively with science at the dissecting-table and laboratory bench. ”

“ I would humble myself even more than I am about to do, for her sake. But let us change the conversation. I want to give you my confidence, not with regard to Isobel, but in connection with another matter. ”