The Ivory Child

  He shrugged his shoulders and I handed her the parcel, which was neatlysewn up. Somebody produced scissors and the stitches were cut. Withinthe linen was a necklace of beautiful red stones, oval-shaped like amberbeads and of the size of a robin's egg. They were roughly polished andthreaded on what I recognized at once to be hair from an elephant'stail. From certain indications I judged these stones, which might havebeen spinels or carbuncles, or even rubies, to be very ancient. Possiblythey had once hung round the neck of some lady in old Egypt. Indeed abeautiful little statuette, also of red stone, which was suspended fromthe centre of the necklace, suggested that this was so, for it may wellhave been a likeness of one of the great gods of the Egyptians, theinfant Horus, the son of Isis.

  "That is the necklace I saw which the Ivory Child gave me in my dream,"said Miss Holmes quietly.

  Then with much deliberation she clasped it round her throat.