A Sapphire Ring

Chapter I. Richard Campion

was a man well known in London, at all events in that part of London called Club-land. If any inquisitive out sider were to venture to ask who he was, the probable answer would be, " Dick Campion, every one knows Dick Campion." But if the inquirer went further, and asked what was known about him, he would not meet with so ready a response. Mr. Campion was a bachelor of independent means, but there was not one of his acquaintances who could have estimated the amount, or told the source, of his income correctly. He did not hunt, he did not shoot, he did not keep a yacht, and (he was over fifty) had never been known to indulge in any kind of sport. He sometimes had a bet on the Derby, but could not be called a racing man. He played a fair game at whist and piquet, but did so only occasionally and for moderate stakes.

He had spent some time abroad, but his travels had not been such as to justify his writing a book, or reading a Paper to the Geographical Society. In short, he had never done anything calculated to bring his name prominently before the Public. There was a tradition, derived from some casual remarks of his, that he had been called to the Bar, but there was no record of his ever having held a brief. In person he was slightly built, and his figure showed as yet few signs of age ; he was clean shaven, with the exception of a fair moustache, in which there were a few grey hairs, but his closely cropped head was decidedly grizzled. He must have been fairly good-looking as a young man, though never either an Adonis or a Hercules. He was still active in his movements, and rode his well-broken hack in the Park with the ease of a practised horseman.

He lived in comfortable though not luxurious chambers, where he cannot be said to have " entertained " ; though, if he did ask a man to dinner, or to breakfast (his habits were rather continental than English), it was an invitation not to be refused. Hc dressed well, neither leading, nor slavishly following the fashion. His clothes never looked either too new or too old ; his tout ensemble was emphatically that of a gentleman. But such a personage could not, in London, entirely escape criticism, and Campion was not exactly a popular man. A man who goes his own way, and lives his own life, seldom is. Certain fault-finders therefore averred that he was affected, and his chief affectation was being proud of his hands. That was the way they accounted for the fact that he seldom wore gloves, and always had a rather remarkable sapphire ring on the little finger of his left hand.

An unprejudiced person would have replied to their insinuations to the effect that his hands were not particularly well shaped, and though they were small and well cared for, they were not at all weak or effeminate. But he would have been obliged to allow that the afore mentioned ring was rather out of place, and was rather ostentatiously displayed. The London season was practically over, and Richard Campion, who had dined early, as was his custom when he was free to choose his hour, was alone in the smoking-room of his club. Shooting men had fled to the moors, and yachting men had taken refuge at Cowes ; but there were still some people left in Town, and Campion was in no wise surprised when a member of the club and a guest came in. He was but slightly ac quainted with his fellow-member, and, after a mutual nod of recognition, he went on calmly smoking his cigar, occasionally pulling his mous tache with his left hand, causing the sapphire on it to flash in the lamp-light, after the fashion which his detractors called affected.

Campion was seated at such a distance from the other two men that he could not actually hear their conver sation, but before long he became aware that they were speaking of him. How he knew it he could not have explained, for only a confused murmur of sound reached him ; but that it was a fact that they were doing so, the feeling was so strong upon him as to amount to a certainty. He had paid no particular attention to the stranger, but now he felt compelled to have a good look at him. What he saw interested him not a little. An elderly man, whose short, white hair was brushed upwards and bristled all over his head, whose cheeks were shaven to a level with his mouth, leaving a long moustache and short beard equally snowy in hue. But by some freak of nature or art his bushy eyebrows were still as black as jet, as if to remind one of what the rest had been.

His nose was aquiline, and on it, or more often in his hand, was a pince-nez. His expression, though suave, was not exactly benevo lent, and his tall and powerfully-built figure was that of a man accustomed to command ; but it would have been hard to guess whether he had been a leader on the field of battle, or in the lecture-room and the laboratory. He was not an Englishman, that was evident, but to what nationality he belonged it would have been difficult to determine. Campion could see that he was asking his host to do something, emphasizing his request by waving his eyeglass in a way that was habitual to him. That gentleman at last yielded. He was a shy man, and did not like taking a liberty with Campion, whom he hardly knew. However, the two men came across the room, and the stranger was in troduced as Baron Prosper.

Campion rose and held out his hand ; but the other merely bowed, keeping his eyes fixed upon him in a way that might have disconcerted a man of a more nervous temperament, or annoyed one of a hotter temper than Campion. The Baron's host was evidently so disturbed at his guest's behaviour that Richard could hardly help laughing. At length, having completed his survey, he said, in excellent English, but with a slight accent, — " I think we have met before, Mr. Campion Was it in the Brazils?" " You are mistaken, Baron. I have never been there." " Yet our friend here told me you travel. Perhaps it was in Mexico or Chili ? " " No, I have never visited South America, and I do not think we have met. You will pardon me, Baron, if I say that if we had, I believe I should not have forgotten it." "That is very possible."

Campion raised his left hand and pulled his moustache. The Baron's piercing eyes glittered yet more brightly, and, pointing with his eyeglass to the ring on the other's finger, he exclaimed, — " Ah ! that is it, at any rate. Monsieur, if I have not previously had the pleasure of meeting yourself, I have been more fortunate with regard to your ring. It is an old friend." " I have had it thirty years," responded Campion coldly. He could not understand what the per tinacious and inquisitive foreigner was driving at. " Precisely. It is more than thirty years since I saw that stone last. You may think me an im pertinent old fool " (which Campion certainly did), " but is it too much to ask how it came into your possession? " The other hesitated. " Ah ! Perhaps your memory fails you. It is not every one who has so good a memory as I," he added sadly.

" No, it is not that I forget. I shall always remember thc circumstances under which this ring came to me. But up to now I have never spoken of them to man, woman, or child. And yet a thirty-year-old secret is hardly worth keeping, and I am inclined to rely upon your discretion." Both men bowed assent, and Campion went on. " When you hear what I have to tell of my adventure, you will perhaps wonder why I have not told it often before, as a ' good story,' a ' bonne fortune ' of my early days." " I do not think so," interrupted the Baron. " We shall the more admire your silence and your prudence." " I was young then, and I do not know that my conduct was remarkable for prudence." Campion happened to look at the shy man as he spoke, and the latter, feeling bound to say some thing, remarked apologetically, " At all events, you have been silent."

" A mistake which Mr. Campion is now about to rectify," said Baron Prosper vehemently. " I am not so sure, Baron, that you will think I was wrong in holding my tongue when you have heard the story." The older man was apparently going to make some hasty retort, but checked himself, and, after regarding Campion curiously for some seconds, merely replied, — " Pray continue ; we will listen.' Campion smiled, and went on. " I was in Hyde Park one morning, the first week in July, leaning over the railings opposite to where the statue of Byron now stands, when a brougham drove slowly by. I saw that its only occupant was a woman, and a pretty one, but she was unknown to me. She might have passed on without my giving her a second thought, for there were plenty of pretty women in London in those days, but she did not, and so she will live in my memory for ever."

He paused, and Prosper, chafing at the delay, exclaimed, — " What then ? " " As she caught sight of me she pulled the check-string, the carriage stopped, the servant descended from the box, and, touching his hat, told me his mistress wished to speak to me. I was surprised, as I felt sure I did not know the lady ; but I must confess that the surprise was an agreeable one. I do not think that I was out of the way conceited, even in those days, but any young fellow might well be pardoned for feeling some elation at being thus singled out by a mysterious beauty." " Quite so," remarked the third man. Baron Prosper looked daggers at him. Campion paid no attention, and continued. " She addressed me by name. ' Mr. Campion,' she said, ' will you do me a favour ? ' ' Delighted,' I responded, waiting for further information. ' It is not a very onerous task I require of you,' said she laughing, ' only to come to my box at the Opera to-night.' I was taken aback at such a sudden invitation, without any preliminary ex planation whatever, and I could only blurt out in the most stupid fashion, 'Whose box shall I ask for ? ' ' Oh, my name is not on the door.

The fourth from the stage on the right on the grand tier. I knew I could depend upon you. Adieu, d bientoV. She kissed her hand to me as she drove on, and as it happened to be her left, I strained my eyes to discover if she was a married woman ; but all I saw was this ring." Baron Prosper gave vent to a sigh of relief which was almost a groan, and then, as if to excuse himself, asked : " You went to the Opera ? " " I did, and found the lady alone. No other person joined us, though from time to time she anxiously scanned the house as if in search of some one she expected to see there." " And was she as pretty at the Opera as she was in the Park ? " " Far more so. I have never seen any woman whom I could compare with her." " What was she like ? " " Pardon me. I cannot describe her. Her hair was dark, not black, but with a ruddy tinge in it.

I cannot tell you the colour of her eyes. She was like yourself, Baron, a foreigner, and she spoke English, if possible, even better than you do. That is all that I can say about her." " It is enough. But what of the ring ? " " I am coming to that. When the Opera was over, I was taking my fair companion to her carriage, not without hopes that she would offer me a lift and some supper, when I perceived that the sapphire was no longer on her finger." " It was not on yours by any chance, was it? " asked the shy man, who, like many such, was apt, when his first bashfulness was over, to become in conveniently facetious. " No, it was not," answered Prosper for him, as Richard looked at his interlocutor in surprise. " You made her acquainted with her loss ? " " Yes, I did, and she in evident agitation ex claimed that she must have dropped it in the box.

I proposed to seek for it then and there, to which she demurred, but allowed me to go and inform the officials of the Opera House that such a jewel was missing. I hastened to do so, but here I was met by a new difficulty. I was naturally asked where the ring, if found, was to be sent ; and I suddenly became aware that I knew neither the name nor the address of the fair loser. I hesitated a moment, and then gave my own, doing so with less compunction, as it occurred to me that it might result in my having an excuse for calling upon her. I then returned to where I had left her in the lobby, as quickly as 1 could. She was not there, and from that day to this I have never seen her." The Baron remained silent, lost in thought ; but the other man could not help commenting upon the story. " I must say you were rather a duffer, Campion.

Fancy spending the evening tete-a-tete with a lady without finding out her address, to say nothing of her name." Dick only shrugged his shoulders, and the other persisted : " Was there nothing which gave you any clue to her identity?" " There was a coronet on her handkerchief, and on her fan was " Prosper intervened with a growl : " Our friend has said he did not know the lady's name or address. If there had been any clue he would have followed it up, or I am much mistaken." " Oh, I don't know," retorted the other ; " he got this precious ring, you see." Prosper swore quietly to himself in some out landish tongue, but Campion turned it off with a smile, though the tactlessness of the remark annoyed him. " You are right, my dear fellow ; I was what the French call ' un peu fat' I will never again go to the Opera with a lady without previously finding out who she is.

In fact, this was a lesson to me, and I have never done so since. I am sorry my tale was not more interesting, and that there was no proper denouement." " That may come," said the Baron oracularly. " Well, as that is all we are to hear about this wonderful adventure of yours, I am off to bed. Ta-ta, Campion. You must look after Prosper." As the latter showed no signs of moving, — " Good night, Baron." The old man rose as his host departed, stretched himself, and sat down again. " Our friend is hospitable but insupportable. I must compliment you, Mr. Campion, on the way you told your story ; you said neither too much nor too little. I only just stopped you in time once, though. It was quite unnecessary that any one, besides ourselves, should have known the name on the fan." " You know it then, Baron !

" " I think so. I believe I could explain the cause of the lady's eccentric behaviour, if not altogether, at least in part. And, moreover, I should wish, with your permission, to ask you a few questions. But though it is late others may come in, and what I have to say is very private and personal to myself." " Come to my rooms to-morrow — I breakfast at eleven — if that would suit you." " Not to-morrow ; the next day, if you will. I have some papers to go through, for my memory, though good, will be all the better for refresh ment." Campion was impressed by his companion's manner. He took the matter so seriously, that it really seemed there was some mystery to be un ravelled. The appointment was made, and the Englishman went home with mingled feelings of curiosity and perplexity as to what their next meeting would bring forth.

He had, for so many years, given up all expectation of ever hearing of the fair unknown, that he was not certain that he wanted to be again mixed up in her affairs. It was as if Fate were tempting him to renew what he had grown to look upon as the follies of his youth, and at his age he thought himself too old for that sort of thing. He still thought of her as he had seen her last. His mind had not immediately grasped the fact that she too, if alive, would be no longer young, and, possibly, no longer beautiful.

Chapter II. Baron Prosper

was punctual at breakfast, but it was not till he and Campion had finished their meal and had lit, he a cigar of vast size and abnormal blackness, and the other a well used briarwood pipe, that he alluded to their previous conversation. " Before I fulfil my undertaking, Mr. Campion," he said, " I should wish to ask you a few questions. But you need not answer them if you do not like." " Certainly," responded Campion smiling ; " you want to cross-examine me, and you warn me in due form that I am not obliged to criminate myself. But, I beg your pardon, you are probably not well up in our absurd English system, which leads to the escape of so many scoundrels." " I do not know your law very intimately, though I am aware that you do not examine an accused person. But, my dear sir, I am not about to accuse you of anything.

I will only ask you to '5 excuse me if my questions appear to you im pertinent. In an ordinary way I can speak your language with some facility, but when the matter is important I often find myself in a difficulty. I fear I use too strong a word, or an expression calculated to annoy, when, as in this case, such is not my intention." " I can understand that. I do not think you will find me ready to take offence." " Well then, you were very prudent to give so slight a sketch of; your adventure in the presence of a third person, and I wish to ask you for some further particulars. But, first, I ought to prove to you that I have some reason, some right to make enquiry. The name on the fan was ' Zoe.' " Campion bowed assent. " Perhaps the recollection of what occurred so long ago was not vivid enough to rouse you, oi perhaps you did not observe that our friend thc other night hinted that Countess Zoe had given you the ring.

I should not have taken his remark so calmly ; to me it would have suggested the idea of other and greater favours." The old man looked keenly at his host, but the latter met his gaze quite unperturbed. " It did not strike me in that light. The man is not over wise. He did not mean to insult me. He was trying to joke, which he does rather ponderously." The Baron looked relieved. " Good ; then you will not mind what I am going to say. You told us very little of what happened in the Opera box." " There was really nothing to tell." " No love-making ? I believe that is a correct expression in your English tongue." Campion hesitated a few seconds before he replied, — " On her part none whatever. I will be per fectly frank with you. I was young then, and could not help feeling flattered at being noticed by so lovely a woman.

Any man in my place would have felt the same, and would, as I confess I did, have tried to find out whether he was in for a ' bonne fortune.' " " So. You made advances which Zoe did not reciprocate. In fact, she snubbed you, as you call it." " No, not exactly. She certainly did not en courage me, but she was kindness itself, and did not treat me as harshly as, no doubt, I deserved for my presumption." " She talked to you then. Was her conversation interesting ? Did she speak much about herself?" " No, very little. She was mostly interested in the other people who were in the house, asking me who they were, and so forth." " You have told us that she seemed to be looking for some one among the audience. Do you think she saw him ? " " As far as I could judge, she did not, if it was a man. She asked me more questions about the ladies than about the men."

" Out of regard for your amour propre." " Perhaps. Anyhow, she said nothing to injure my self-esteem." " Yet she made herself agreeable enough for you to fall in love with her." " I hardly think I was so far gone as that. You see, I knew so little of her — not even her name." " Oh, you cold-blooded English ! Do you fall in love with a woman or with a name? Besides, was not ' Zoe ' enough for you ? It has a nice soft sound, has it not ? " " Yes, it has been the sweetest name in the world to me for thirty years." " And then you say you were not in love with its owner." " Not at the time ; but the ring was always here to remind me of her." " Ah ! I was wrong. You are not cold-blooded, you are only slow — and romantic. It strikes me, my friend, that you ultimately fell in love, not with the woman herself, but with her image as it remained imprinted on your memory."

" No doubt you are right, but somehow my falling in love with a passing vision has not affected my life to any great extent." " You have never married ? " And the Baron looked round the room for any trace of woman's handiwork without finding any. Campion shook his head, and the other went on. " One of your poets says something about absence which would be appropriate, but I forget it." " That it makes the heart grow fonder." " Yes, that is it. But I did not come here to talk metaphysics. I shall not worry you much more, but I have not quite done with you yet. You saw the ring on her finger, so her hand was bare." " Yes, her gloves lay on her lap most of the evening. I remember she dropped them once, and I picked them up." " Was that when you were trying to kiss her hand ? " " No. If I had known as much about foreign customs then as I do now, I might have done so, but I was too diffident to make the attempt."

The Baron frowned, not in anger but in thought. " I cannot fancy you, Mr. Campion," he said, looking at him as if trying to realise what he had been thirty years before, " in the character of a bashful man. No, you must, even though you were young, have been gifted with that amount of sangfroid which it is necessary for every one to possess who is destined to make his life a success. And you must also have had some of that readiness of resource which is so desirable. Few men would have accepted Zoe's invitation without imagining all sorts of things. I am marvelling at her discrimination in selecting you. Had she chosen differently, she might have found herself in a very awkward fix. There are not many who, under such circumstances, would have behaved so thoroughly ' en gentilhomme.' An assignation " " My dear Baron, I begin to think you did not know Countess Zoe as well as you say, or you would not use that word in connection with her."

" Better and better ! I apologise to you and to her," exclaimed Prosper, rising and holding out his hand. Campion shook it cordially, though much mysti fied by his companion's impetuosity. The latter regained his composure, and resumed the cross examination. " You made one omission the other evening, which proved to me that you had not told the story before." " What was that ? " " You left the ring lying on the floor of the box. When did it reach your hand ? " " The very next day. It was found the same evening that it was lost. I feel sure that I could have found it myself, if I had been allowed to go back to the box." " Quite so. But Zoe prevented that.' " What do you mean ? " " All in good time. My explanation must come later. By the way, the people at the theatre raised no question about delivering the lady's ring to you ?

" " No. I mentioned no lady, only told them that a sapphire ring had been lost, probably in a particular box, and, as I have explained, gave my own name and address." " I see ; and when you had got it you took some steps, I suppose, to return it to its rightful owner ? " " Not for some days. I have since always blamed myself for the delay. The lady knew my address, though I did not know hers, and I hoped that she would enquire for her ring." " You need not have blamed yourself. If Zoe had wanted the ring back, she would have done as you hoped she would do. But she did not want it. You spoilt your chance, my friend, when you observed that it was not on her finger. If you had been a more ardent lover, or if she had remembered to put on her glove, things might have been different." " I do not understand," interrupted Campion.

" Of course you do not. How should you ? It would be better perhaps if you never did," Prosper went on dreamily, with his eyes fixed upon a spot on the wall directly over his host's head. For the time those eyes had lost their brilliancy, there was a glaze over them ; for he was mentally elsewhere, engaged in a process of self-introspection. He had practically learnt all that Campion had to tell, and he had now to decide whether he, in his turn, should make a confidant of a man he had known for only a couple of days, and of whose character he had had but slight opportunity of judging. The Englishman's lack of enthusiasm irritated him, while at the same time he admired his power of self-restraint. His own sense of honour, as we in England understand that expression, had been to a considerable extent blunted by his experi ences in various paits of the globe; but still his soul revolted against probing the inmost feelings of such a man as he who was then sitting opposite to him in eager expectation, and putting him off with a lie.

So he elected to carry out his contract. " I am an old man," he said, " and I have reason to be suspicious of every one. I have known you but a short time, but I think you are to be trusted. I ought also to warn you that you may regret learning what I shall have to tell you. After the questions I have put to you this morning, which you have so loyally answered, I have gone too far to retreat. If you are willing to take the risk of hearing all I can tell you about Zoe, I will speak. Do you desire it ? " Campion did not answer immediately. He hesitated as Prosper had done, but for different reasons. He was not naturally of a curious disposition, and had arrived at a time of life when most men are inclined to leave well alone. Why should he care to learn the history of the mysterious beauty of thirty years ago?

The Baron had been right in his suggestion that he had fallen in love with a memory rather than with the lady herself. Was it not probable that further information would tend towards disillusion, would drive away the bright vision which haunted his waking, and sometimes even his sleeping hours ? If the story he was about to hear were to turn out humdrum and common place, the romance which had grown up, in his imagination, round the figure of the fair Zoe would be destroyed. And cui bonol But somehow his mind refused to contemplate this result of his acceding to Prosper's proposal. No, the story of " her " life could not be dull and prosaic ; but what then ? Would he be able to listen to it calmly, as a merely interesting recital of the adven tures of a person with whom he had no concern ? He felt that he could not.