No, this--this....
A singular idea suddenly flashed through his brain; a thought which brought a smile to his lips even at this moment of frightful tension.
He acted upon it forth with: he drew out from within his under-garment a gem that hung round his neck by a gold chain.

This jewel--a masterpiece by one of the famous Greek engravers of heathen antiquity--had been given him in Constantinople in exchange for a team of four horses to which his greatest friend there had taken a fancy.

It was in fact of greater price than half a dozen fine horses.

Half beside himself, and as if intoxicated, Orion followed the wild impulse to which he had yielded; indeed, he was glad to have so precious a jewel at hand to hang in the place of the worthless gold frame-work.

It was done with a pinch; but screwing up the hinge again was a longer task, for his hands trembled violently--and as the moment drew near in which he meant to let Paula feel his power, the more quickly his heart beat, and the more difficult he found it to control his mind to calm deliberation.
After he had unbolted the door he stood like a thief spying the long corridor of the strangers' wing, and this increased his excitement to a frenzy of rage with the world, and fate, and most of all with her who had compelled him to stoop to such base conduct.