Mr. Rushton turns pale, and falls into a chair.
Verty hastens to him.
The lawyer rises, and gazes at him with pale lips, passes his hand over his brow with nervous, trembling haste. He holds the necklace up before Verty there, and says, in a husky voice—
"Where did your mother get this?"
Verty gazes at the necklace, and shakes his head.
"I don't know, sir—I don't know that it is her's—I think I have seen it though—yes, yes, long, long ago—somewhere!"
And the young hunter's head droops, thoughtfully—his dreamy eyes seem to wander over other years.
Then he raises his head and says, abruptly:
"I had a strange thought, sir! I thought I saw myself—only I was a little child—playing with that necklace somewhere in a garden—oh, how strange! There were walks with box, and tulip beds, and in the middle, a fountain—strange! I thought I saw Indians, too—and heard a noise—why, I am dreaming!"
The lawyer looks at Verty with wild eyes, which, slowly, very slowly, fill with a strange light, which makes the surrounding personages keep silent—so singular is this rapt expression.