"I think it will bring evil upon you. You shouldn't let it come into the house," she panted, and felt that what she said was true.
Theodore started and grew pale. Granny Lee had used almost the same words when he had asked her about the possible danger. The old woman had refused to say what the danger was, or perhaps--as she stated--she could not put a name to it. But after hearing Patricia's remark, Theodore felt that perhaps the Mikado Jewel had been referred to as "It." Granny Lee had said plainly: "Don't let It come into the house!" And now this girl, who also possessed certain powers, declared that it should not be allowed to remain under the roof lest it should bring evil in its train.
"You are talking rubbish," said Theodore roughly, and trying to conceal his dismay. "How can that jewel hurt anyone?"
"I don't know; I can't say; but it should not be allowed to remain here."
Squire Colpster laughed and laid the lovely thing down on his desk, where it flashed gloriously in a ray of sunshine. "It shall remain here always and bring good fortune to the family," he said vaingloriously.
Patricia, impelled by some outside power, rose and went up to lay a warning hand on the old man's arm. "There is something wrong," she urged. "Consider, Mr. Colpster! How could the thief have sent the jewel to you unless he knew more about the matter than we think? If an ordinary tramp stole it, he would have pawned it; if a priest of the temple took it, he would have carried it, as Mr. Theodore suggested, back to Japan. Why is it sent to you?"
"I don't know. That is what puzzles me," said Colpster, and his mouth grew more obstinate than ever. "But I'm going to keep it, anyhow."
"What do you say?" Miss Carrol turned to Theodore.
The big man winced and grew a shade whiter, for the warning of Granny Lee still haunted his mind. But the sight of the Jewel, and the knowledge that he might one day possess it, awoke all his covetous nature, and he could not make up his mind to suggest that it should be sent away. And, after all, the "It" to which Brenda Lee referred might not be this gem. "I say keep it," he remarked, drawing a deep breath. "The luck of the family is bound up in it, I am certain."
"The bad luck of the family," said Patricia bitterly.