"What can this be?" questioned Olga. "Sambaji, what is it?"
But Sambaji shook her head. "Miss _sahib,_ how should I know?"
Olga suddenly turned crimson. She held out the tiny packet to Nick.
"You open it!" she said. "I'm sure it's something I don't want."
Nick made no movement to take it! "Sorry, dear. Two hands are better than one," he said.
Olga looked at the thing in the palm of her hand. She was trembling a little. "I don't want it, Nick," she said almost piteously.
"Don't!" she pleaded, real distress in her tone. "Can't I send it back unopened?"
"Whom do you propose to send it to?" asked Nick, still chuckling.
She smiled faintly in spite of herself. "It's pretty certain where it comes from, isn't it?"
"Well, isn't it?" she persisted, still dubiously eyeing the unwelcome gift.
"I really can't say. But I don't see why you should be afraid of it in any case. To judge by the size of it, I shouldn't say it could be a very dangerous explosive."
She smiled again with obvious reluctance, and began to study the address on the packet. It was written in a very minute hand.
There followed a pause; then with abrupt resolution Olga's fingers began to work at the outer covering.
Nick watched her, amusement on his yellow face. "I'm not quite sure that two hands are better than one when they shake like that," he observed. "Ah, here comes the dedication!" as a tiny strip of paper fluttered from Olga's fingers. "It reminds me--vividly--of my own courtship. Quite sure you don't want me to go?"
"Nick!" she protested, with burning cheeks. "It's very horrid of you to laugh. Do you know what it is?"
"I can almost guess," he said, as a small leather case emerged from the paper. "I've seen 'em before."
Olga opened the case. It was lined with white velvet, and in the centre of it there flashed and glittered a diamond and emerald ring.
Olga looked up at him with gleaming eyes. "Nick! How--how dare he!"
"It is pretty daring certainly," agreed Nick. "It's a valuable trifle--that."
Olga closed the case with a resolute snap. "I shall send it back at once."
"Hadn't you better read the dedication?" suggested Nick.
She took up the strip of paper, stretched it out, frowned at it. The writing on this also was minute. After a moment she read it out. "'_Dum spiro spero. N.W.'_ Just as I thought!"