Final Proof Part 36

Suffice it to say that I think I can prove to the satisfaction of any good archaeologist that both Isis and Osiris belong to Central America.

And as those pearls in your hand once adorned an Aztec basaltic statue similar to those of Dupe and Humboldt, I have chosen to call them the 'Pearls of Isis.'"

"Ah; then it is from their origin that you imagine that so many stories are connected with them. I have always heard that the priests of ancient Mexico were a bloodthirsty lot, and as pearls are supposed by the superst.i.tious to symbolize tears, I can imagine the romances that might be built around these, especially if they were guarded by virgin priestesses."

"Now you are utilizing your detective instinct to guess my tale before it is told. You are partly right. Many curious legends are to be heard from the natives in Mexico, explanatory of these pearl-bedecked idols.

Two are particularly interesting, though you are not bound to accept them as strictly true. The first was related to me personally by an old man, who claimed a connection with the priesthood through a lineage of priestly ancestors covering two thousand generations. This you will admit is a long service for a single family in worshipful care of a lot of idols, and it would at least be discourteous to doubt the word of such a truly holy man."

"Oh, I shall not attempt to discredit or disprove the old fellow's story, whatever it may be."

"That is very generous of you, considering your profession, and I am sure the old Aztec would feel duly honored. However, here is his story.

According to him, there were many beautiful women among the Aztecs, but only the most beautiful of these were acceptable to the G.o.ds as priestesses. Their entrance into the service of the temple, I imagine, must have been most trying, for he stated that it was only when the women came before the priests with their chosen lovers to be married that the priests were permitted to examine their faces in order to determine whether they were beautiful enough to become temple virgins.

If, on such an occasion, the bride seemed sufficiently beautiful, the priest, instead of uniting her to her lover, declared that the G.o.ds demanded her as their own, and she was forthwith consecrated to the service of the temple. They were then compelled to forswear the world, and, under threats of mysterious and direful punishments, they promised to guard their chast.i.ty, and devote their virgin lives to the G.o.ds. The mysterious punishment meted out to transgressors the old priest explained to me. Usually in such instances the girl would elope, most often with the lover of whom she had been deprived at the altar. No effort was made to recapture her. Such was the power of the priests, and such the superst.i.tious dread of the anger of the G.o.ds, that none would hold communication of any kind with the erring couple. Thus isolated and compelled to hide away in the forests, the unfortunate lovers would eventually live in hourly dread of disaster, until either the girl would voluntarily return to the priests to save her lover from the imagined fury of the G.o.ds, or else to save himself he would take the girl back.

In either case the result would be the same. None ever saw her again.

But, shortly after, a new pearl would appear upon the forehead of the idol."

"A new pearl? How?"

"The old priest, whose word you have promised not to doubt, claimed that beneath the temple there was a dark, bottomless pool of water in which abounded the sh.e.l.l-fish from which pearls were taken. These molluscs were sacred, and to them were fed the bodies of all the human beings sacrificed on their altars. Whenever one of the temple virgins broke her oath of fidelity to the G.o.ds, upon her return she was dropped alive into this pool, and, curious to relate, at the appearance of the next new moon the tepanteohuatzin would invariably discover a pearl of marvellous size."

"Why, then, each pearl would represent a temple virgin reincarnated, as it were?"

"Yes; one might almost imagine that in misery and grief over her unhappy love affair, she had wept until she had dissolved, and that then she had been precipitated, to use a chemical term, in the form of a pearl.

Altogether the legend is not a bad one, and if we recall the connection between Isis and the crescent moon, you must admit my right to call these the Pearls of Isis."

"Oh, I promised to dispute nothing. But did you not say that there was another legend?"

"Yes, and I am glad to say it has a much more fortuitous finale and is altogether more believable, though this one was not told to me by a man of G.o.d, or perhaps to be more accurate I should say a 'man of the G.o.ds.'

According to this rendition the temple virgins were chosen exactly as related in the other narrative, but before actually entering upon their duties there was a period of probation, a period of time covering 'one moon.' You see we cannot escape the moon in this connection. During this probationary period it was possible for the lover to regain his sweetheart by paying a ransom, and this ransom was invariably a pearl of a certain weight and quality. By placing these pearls on the forehead of the G.o.ddess she was supposed to be repaid for the loss of one of her virgin attendants. All of which shows that her ladyship, Isis, in her love for finery, was peculiarly human and not unlike her sisters of to-day."

"This second story is very easy to believe, if one could understand where the pearls were to be found."

"Oh, that is easily explained. Humboldt was right in supposing that there was a communication with the Californian coast. There was a regular yearly journey to and from that place for the purposes of trade, and many of the Aztecs travelled thither purposely to engage in fishing for pearls. Whenever one of these fishers was fortunate enough to find a pearl of the kind demanded by the priests, he would h.o.a.rd it up, and keep his good luck a secret. For with such a pearl could he not woo and win one of the fairest daughters of his tribe? We can well imagine that without such a pearl the more cautious of the beauties would turn a deaf ear to lovers' pleadings, fearing to attract the eyes of the priests at the altar. Verily, in those days beauty was a doubtful advantage."

"Yes, indeed. Now I understand what you meant when you said that each of these pearls might have its own romance. For, according to the legends, they are either the penalty or the price of love. But you have not told me the particular story of these pearls."

"There may be as many as there are pearls, but I can tell you but one; though as that involves a story of crime, it will interest you I am sure. You will remember that when we were going to the yacht on that day when we solved the first opal mystery, I explained to you my reasons for buying up large gems. I think I told you of my first venture?"

"Yes; you overheard a plot to steal a ruby, and you went to the hostess and bought the jewel, which you then stuck in your scarf, where the plotters could see it and know that it had changed hands."

"That is the tale exactly. You will consider it a curious coincidence when I tell you that these pearls came into my possession in an almost similar manner."

"That is remarkable, I must say."

"And yet not so remarkable, either, all things considered. Crime, or rather the method of committing a crime, is often suggested by previous occurrences. A body is found in the river dismembered, and is a nine days' wonder. Yet, even though the mystery may be solved, and the murderer brought to justice, the police may scarcely have finished with the case before another dismembered body is discovered. Often, too, the second criminal goes unpunished; in imitating his predecessor he avoids, or attempts to avoid, his mistakes. I suppose that is easier than formulating an entirely new plan. So I imagine that the attempt to steal the ruby, which I frustrated, and the stealing of the pearls, which was successfully managed, may have some connection, more especially as both affairs occurred in the same house."

"In the same house?"

"Yes, and within a month, or, to follow the legend, I might say in the same 'moon.' I was in New Orleans at the time, and as it was in the Mardi Gras season, masked b.a.l.l.s were common occurrences. One who was especially fond of this cla.s.s of entertainment was Madame Damien. She was a widow, not yet thirty, and as her husband, Maurice Damien, had belonged to one of the wealthiest and most distinguished of the old Creole families, there was no apparently good reason for denying her the rightful privilege of mixing with and receiving the best people of the city. Nevertheless, there were a few who declined to a.s.sociate with her, or to allow the younger members of their households to do so."

"What were their reasons?"

"Reasons there were, but of such an impalpable nature that even those who most rigorously shunned her, ventured not to speak openly against her. For reasons, it might have been said that she smoked cigarettes--but other good women did likewise; she entertained often, and served wine intemperately--others did the same; she permitted card-playing in her rooms, even for money stakes,--but the same thing occurred in other houses, though perhaps not so openly. Thus none of these reasons, you see, was sufficiently potent. But there were others, less easily discussed and more difficult to prove. It was whispered, very low and only in the ears of most trustworthy intimates, that Madame Damien permitted, nay, encouraged, young men to pay court to her.

If true, she managed her courtiers most admirably, for openly she was most impartial in distributing her favors, while secretly--well, none penetrated the secrets of Madame Damien. One thing was certainly in her favor; there were no duels about her, and duelling was not uncommon in those days."

"I should say she was a clever woman."

"Just the word. Some, who could say nothing more, said she was altogether too clever. It was this woman who sold me the ruby."

"The first acquisition to your collection?"

"Yes. I may as well briefly give you the facts, for thus you may see the connection between the two affairs. Land is not so valuable in our southern country as it is here in New York, and the houses of the wealthy are often in the midst of extensive gardens. Some of these not only have beautiful flower-beds, but likewise palms, cacti, oleanders, azaleas, and other tropical plants. Madame Damien's residence was in a garden which might almost be called a miniature park. The paths were of snow-white oyster sh.e.l.ls, rolled and beaten until they resembled smooth white marble. The hedges were of arbor vitae cut with square top, except here and there where the trees were trained to form arched gateways through which the flower-beds could be reached. In places, often nearly concealed by flowering plants, were little houses,--lovers' nooks they are called,--made also of trained arbor vitae. Of larger trees there were the palmetto, the orange, and the magnolia. On fete nights these beautiful grounds would be illuminated with Chinese lanterns, sufficiently numerous to make the scene a veritable fairy picture, but not shedding enough light to interfere with the walks of lovers who sought the garden paths between the dances."

"Your description reminds one of Eden."

"The similarity is greater than you imagine, for the serpent lurked in the rose bowers. At one of Madame Damien's masquerade fetes I had left the warm rooms for a breath of the perfume-laden air without, and was walking along a path which led to the farthest end of the garden, when I was attracted by a stifled cry. I stopped and listened, and as it was not repeated I was just thinking that I had heard the mournful cry of a dove, when a tug at my sleeve caused me to turn quickly. At my side was a little creature in a green domino scarcely distinguishable from the shrubbery that lined the walk. The girl stood on her toes, drew my head down to hers, and in a frightened tone whispered:

"'The men. They mean mischief--to them--in there.'

"She pointed to one of the little arbor-vitae houses near us, and turning fled back along the path before I could restrain her.

"Much mystified, I stepped softly toward the little house, intending to discover if possible who might be within, when I seemed to hear voices behind me. Listening intently, I traced the sounds to the opposite side of the hedge, and therefore I crept cautiously in that direction, satisfied that here were the men to whom the girl had made allusion.

Here is what I heard:

"'As they come out, we must follow them. When I whistle, you jump on madame; I will take care of him. I will undertake to hurt him enough to make him squeal. That will alarm Madame, who will be so fearful lest her precious lover be hurt that you will have no difficulty in getting the ruby.'"

"Quite a neat little plot; only needs the detail of garroting to afford us a perfect picture of the Spanish brigand," said Mr. Barnes.

"The men were undoubtedly professional thieves who considered the masquerade a good opportunity. As soon as they mentioned the ruby, I knew that the woman was none other than Madame Damien, who possessed a stone of rare beauty which she frequently wore. The point of greatest interest was that Madame seemed about to lose her usual good luck by having one of her love affairs discovered. How could I warn her without myself learning who was with her? Strange though it may seem, I had no wish to know the name of her companion, so I hit upon an expedient.

Going to the door of the little house I called aloud:

"'Madame Damien! Will you allow me to speak to you a moment?' Of course she did not reply. From the deathlike stillness of the place one might have thought it empty. I was too sure, however, that she was there, so I spoke again.

"'Madame, your very life is in danger, if you do not come out and speak to me.' In an instant she was at my side, talking in a quick whisper.

"'Who are you? What do you mean?'

"'Pardon my intruding, but I was obliged to adopt this course, I a.s.sure you.'

"I was speaking loudly enough to be heard by the men on the other side of the hedge. 'I was pa.s.sing here just now, with no suspicion that you were here, alone,'--I purposely used the word, so that she might feel easy about her companion,--'when I chanced to overhear the plotting of two ruffians who are even now hidden in the hedge. They are lying in wait for you, intending to rob you of your ruby.'

"'Steal my ruby? I don't understand.'

"'Had I not heard their plan, they would undoubtedly have partly strangled you while they stole the jewel. It was to save you from the danger of this encounter and the loss that I felt it my duty to call you out to speak with me.'

"'What shall I do?'

"'I advise you to sell the stone to me.'

"'Sell it to you? How would that help matters?'