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'I do not want your money, he said, 'but I must have the papers relative to the opal-mine. I can not express the effect these words produced upon me. 'To deal frankly with you, continued the General, 'you are poisoned, and the Indian poison that is now coursing through your veins has no antidote. Ten minutes, and your strength will begin to fail; two hours, and your earthly career will end.
''Such being your decision, what course do you advise? ''Immediate action, for minutes are precious. ''I foresee we shall agree perfectly. To-day my host purposes starting for the capital; I shall accompany him. If you return without delay, the remainder of the day will suffice to prepare for the journey, and to-morrow we will start for the opal-mine. ''But where shall I meet you, madame?
''Papers to be burnt after my death, said I, obeying his injunction. ''Well, what do you intend doing with them? ''Can you for one moment doubt? I replied. 'What if I should tell you they contain the entire secret of my opal-mine! 'I made no reply; but struck a match against the wall, and setting them on fire, resumed my seat.
As I journeyed on, it grew more and more distant, until at last it faded into a dim memory of the past; and through the long miles of my lonely ride there went before me the glorious vision of an opal-mine of untold wealth an opal-mine without an owner a countless fortune, untold riches, waiting to fall into my hands. 'It was past midnight when I reached Toluca.
She had picked up the dagger which I had thrown away, and stabbed herself to the heart. 'And the opal-mine? 'I meant, at first, to leave the Nibelungen Hoard alone; but time tames all things except the love of gold. I went there; it was rich, but not inexhaustible. You have all had proof that I am neither poor nor parsimonious; but neither am I extravagant.
I have all that I want a cottage at Newport, a neat house in the Rue de la Paix, stocks, and real estate. The opal-mine started me; I have kept myself going very well ever since. 'Gentlemen, my tale is ended. I am sorry it has proved so long, and am grateful to you all for the attentive hearing you have given me.
Though I sincerely wished my poor sick neighbor might succeed in his enterprise, I gradually grew restless and morose. The opal-mine became a painful and distasteful topic of conversation, and as Arthur invariably adverted to it in some way or other, I by degrees made my visits of shorter and shorter duration. 'In vain I strove to divert my mind from this one absorbing idea.
''This opal-mine, like the Golden Fleece, brings misfortune to all who seek it, she said, when I had finished, 'Poor Arthur! I loved him fondly, devotedly; and his image will live forever in my heart. But at such a crisis it is worse than folly it is madness to waste time by giving way to grief. Reason teaches us to bow before the inevitable. It is idle to repine at the decrees of Fate.
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