Mr. Colpster worried a great deal over the continued absence of Harry Pentreddle, and had frequently sent Jarvis to Hendle to inform him that he was wanted at the Hall. But Pentreddle had gone away from his lodgings without leaving any message behind, and no one--not even Isa Lee--knew where he was to be found. This absence and silence made the Squire quite uneasy, especially when he remembered that Harry had seen the emerald. He had stolen it before and--as the Squire, without any grounds to go upon, considered--he might steal it again. Haunted by this thought, Colpster gave Patricia the key of the safe and made her bring him the Jewel. He slept with it under his pillow and hugged it to his heart every day, talking meanwhile about the good luck it would bring.
"It has not brought any good luck yet, Mr. Colpster," said Patricia one evening, after her lovemaking with Basil in the smoking-room.
"How do you mean, my dear?"
"Well, in the first place, you have broken your leg; in the second, you have lost that lawsuit which----"
The Squire groaningly interrupted her: "Yes, I have lost it, worse luck, my dear. The land has gone, and my income will be diminished to eight hundred. Yes, I admit that bad luck. And the weather is really terrible too," he added, looking at the streaming window-pane. "It so rarely rains here, yet it has poured ever since my accident."
"And before then," Patricia reminded him. "The rain, by making the road slippery, caused your accident. If I were you, Mr. Colpster, I would send back the jewel to Japan with Count Akira. He is quite right: the good luck it brought to your family centuries ago has changed to bad."
"How can you believe in such rubbish!" groaned the Squire, hugging his gem.
"You believe in it," said Miss Carrol, wondering at his want of logic, "or you would let the Mikado Jewel go."
"The luck will change now," insisted Colpster, trying to persuade himself into a kindly belief. "Everything will come right."
"I hope so," said Patricia, poking the bedroom fire, before which she was kneeling. "You must write and tell me if it does."