"The Star of India I believe was first heard of about seven hundred years ago. When Cootub, the Afghan conqueror, made Delhi the capital of Hindostan, he slew the queen, who had received it from some unknown source, and he placed the diamond in the hilt of his sword. He vauntingly said his sword hilt was the safest place, inasmuch as the man was not born of woman who could take it from him. But despite all his boasts, one of his soldiers stole it at midnight, and succeeded in reaching Persia, where he sold it to the Shah. It was stolen in turn from him by a daring eunuch whom Cootub sent thither, and the servant brought it back to Hindostan. It remained with the Afghan line until the great Baber appeared upon the scene in 1525, and slew the last Afghan monarch and took the prodigious gem from him. It continued in the possession of the Moguls until the beginning of this century, when it was lost."
"How?"
"Among the strange facts connected with this diamond is that its modern history is more dim and shadowy than its ancient annals. Like the Koh-i-noor and all such great gems, it has been the cause of many wars, murders, and all manner of crimes. A half century ago, when it was reposing in the most secure hiding place in the Mogul's palace, where it was believed an army could hardly capture it, it vanished as though it had been destroyed by spontaneous combustion."
"Stolen again, of course?"
"Yes; but by whom no one ever seemed to know. I have been told that it has been seen in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, and other points within the last ten years. There is good reason to believe that it has passed over the Himalayas twice, carried once by the chieftain of one of the wild tribes of that section. This chieftain, like many other owners of the Star of India, was killed, and the marvelous gem taken from him."
"Where is it supposed to be at this time?"
"Immense rewards have been offered for its recovery, but it flits about the country like an ignis fatuus. The last rumor which I heard was that it had fallen into the possession of a converted Brahmin, who carried it with him wherever he went."
Dr. Avery, who was convinced that he knew the truth, looked at the missionary with a smile; but the calm expression of the good man's face showed that he had not the faintest suspicion that the Brahmin to whom he referred was Luchman their guide.
"No," thought the surgeon; "it has never entered his head. Did you ever hear how it was, Mr. Hildreth, that this converted Brahmin got possession of the diamond?"
"I believe he became involved in a quarrel with the chief of some Himalaya savages. The chief and one of his warriors tried to take the life of the Brahmin, who slew both and brought back the gem over the loftiest range of mountains on the globe."