Between him and the ring, the truth
ought to come out."
"All right. But don't forget that--" pointing to the unexplained
spot on the wood of the doorway. "You've got a mighty important
clue there, waiting for you to analyse it."
And he went and got his hat, and left the house. His final remark
was that we wouldn't see him back until he had something to report
about our man.
Five o'clock the next morning found my sister and me out of our
beds and desperately busy. She spent a good deal of time, of
course in caring for Ariadne. The poor girl showed no improvement
at all; and we got scant encouragement from the fact that she
looked no worse.
Not a sound escaped her lips; her eyes remained closed; she gave
no sign of life, save her barely perceptible breathing. It made me
sick at heart just to look at her; so near, and yet so fearfully
far away.
But when Charlotte could spare any time she gave me considerable
help in what I was trying to do. One great service she was
rendering has already been made clear: she wore the ring
constantly, thus relieving me of the anxiety of caring for it. I
was very cautious not to have it in my possession for more than a
few minutes at a time.
My first move was to set down, in orderly fashion, the list of the
gem's attributes. I grouped together the fluctuating nature of its
pale blue colour, its power of reproducing those who had gone into
the Blind Spot, its combination of perfect solidity with extreme
lightness; its quality of coldness to the touch of a male, and
warmth to that of a female; and finally its ability to induct--I
think this is the right term--to induct sounds out of the unknown.
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