"It belonged to my grandmother, dear! Look," she said, pointing to the pale green stone. And there, cut in minute script were the words, "Qui me négligé, me perde."
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE THREAT
Following the adventure with the rose bush in its tinsel basket, there came three days of tortured conflict for Hester Storm, conflict with red-lipped, sinister-eyed Anton, who pursued her ceaselessly; conflict also with herself, for now the imps of greed seemed to dance about her day and night, urging her to take this hidden treasure and escape with it. In the zeal of her first repentant impulse it would have been easy for the girl to give back the money to Miss Thompson and then go; she was equal to that single act of renunciation, but to stay here wearily through days of useless waiting, unable to do anything or confide in anyone, and all the time to have, burning in her breast, the knowledge of those wonderful banknotes there in the bottom of the flower-pot, all unsuspected, and hers for the easy taking—this was too much for Hester Storm.
Through sleepless night hours she sought some way of deliverance. Should she take the money and carry it to Miss Thompson in Brighton? No, no! She dared not trust herself, she dared not touch the money, not even to hide it in a securer place. The very sight of that fortune might be too strong a temptation for her; indeed, whenever her duties required her to pass through the conservatory, the troubled girl found herself hurrying away with hands clenched and face averted from that beckoning rose bush. Once she stopped and almost yielded; she was actually reaching toward the basket when the words that Merle had taught her sounded in her ears. "To be honest, to be kind. To ask God every day to give me strength against temptation. For Jesus' sake. Amen." And she staggered on out of the room.
To banish these wicked thoughts Hester threw herself with feverish zeal into her household duties. She helped the countess in the kitchen, she helped Lionel in the garden, she helped Merle in the dining room. She made the beds, she scrubbed the floors, she welcomed the humblest drudgery, anything to fill her mind and fight back the devils that were tempting her.
On the evening of the third day she realized that the situation was intolerable. Not only was she doubtful of her own strength, but she lived in growing terror of Anton, whose looks and whispered words made it all too clear what his intentions were. Thus far she had avoided being alone with him, but she saw that he would not be put off any longer.
"See here, kid," he had threatened that afternoon as Hester passed him on the drive, "if you think you can play tag with me any longer you've got another guess coming. Either you come to the garage to-night after supper, or——" The leer on his evil face was so full of menace that she shrank away trembling.
"I'll come to the garage," she said.
"At nine o'clock?"