CHAPTER XIII.
Two mornings later the newspapers announced the important facts that Miss Kitty Killigrew had gone to Bar Harbor for the week, and that the famous uncut emeralds of the Maharajah of Something-or-other-apur had been stolen; nothing co-relative in the departure of Kitty and the green stones, coincidence only.
The Indian prince was known the world over as gem-mad.

He had thousands in unset gems which he neither sold, wore, nor gave away.
His various hosts and hostesses lived in mortal terror during a sojourn of his; for he carried his jewels with him always; and often, whenever the fancy seized him, he would go abruptly to his room, spread a square of cobalt-blue velvet on the floor, squat in his native fashion beside it, and empty his bags of diamonds and rubies and pearls and sapphires and emeralds and turquoises.

To him they were beautiful toys.
Whenever he was angry, they soothed him; whenever he was happy, they rounded out this happiness; they were his variant moods.
He played a magnificent game.

Round the diamonds he would make a circle of the palest turquoises.

Upon this pyramid of brilliants he would place some great ruby, sapphire, or emerald.