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FIRE IN THE EARTH
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Ranga.
Its eyes were two great diamonds, one of these later to be called the
Orloff. Both were of the shape of half an egg and weighed nearly 200
carats, which is the same size as the Ortoff is today.
Living
in the neighborhood of the temple, or quartered near by, rather, was a
French grenadier. When he learned of the treasure he deserted and, with
the aid of some money he had saved, began to plan over a period of
years how to get possession of it. He realized that, being a Christian,
he could not get beyond the fourth of the seven enclosures ot the
temple. So he embraced the Hindu faith. Then he obtained employment
within the walls and in time was admitted as a frequent worshiper at
the inner shrine because of his seeming devotion to the god Sri-Ranga
and his loyalty to the priests.
Came
a night ot storm, a terrific storm that seemed to rock the outer walls.
The French grenadier made his way into the inner shrine. The eyes
glittered from the idol. He pried one diamond from its socket, started
to remove the other. But noises about disturbed him. He feared
detection and that would mean death. Leaving behind the other eye, he
fled, scaled the walls, swam the river to the mainland, and escaped
through the jungles to the English army stationed at Madras.
He
mentioned nothing about the diamond to the British but waited until he
had a chance to escape in an English merchant vessel. By this time he
was "penniless." He confided his secret to the captain and the captain
purchased the stone for $10,000. But the captain wasn't satisfied. One
night he attacked the grenadier, took the $10,000, and threw the
grenadier overboard. The captain now held the stone until he reached
another Indian port. There he met a Frenchman and sold him the stone
for $60,000. The cap-
(38)
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