The Cardinal Moth

'The Cardinal Moth,' Frobisher said, hoarsely. (Chapter I.)
THE CARDINAL MOTH
FRED M. WHITE
Author of The Crimson Blind, The Weight of the Crown, The Corner House, etc., etc.
WARD, LOCK, & CO., LIMITED LONDON AND MELBOURNE 1905
Made and Printed in Great Britain by WARD, LOCK & Co., LIMITED, LONDON.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
THE CARDINAL MOTH
CHAPTER I.
FLOWERS OF BLOOD.
The purple darkness seemed to be filled with a nebulous suggestion of things beautiful; long trails and ropes of blossoms hung like stars reflected in a lake of blue. As the eye grew accustomed to the gloom these blooms seemed to expand and beautify. There was a great orange globe floating on a violet mist, a patch of pink swam against an opaque window-pane like a flight of butterflies. Outside the throaty roar of Piccadilly could be distinctly heard; inside was misty silence and the coaxed and pampered atmosphere of the Orient. Then a long, slim hand—a hand with jewels on it—was extended, and the whole vast dome was bathed in brilliant light.