Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 90: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

880 in the world who’s seen the Sheik and kept his life.’ “* Doesn’t it strike you that it’s an un- lucky gem?’ said he. ‘TI simply laughed at him. “Of course,’ said I, ‘Men of intelli- gence take no stock in such truck as luck.’ ‘“* Perhaps not,’ said he. ‘ But for my part, I can’t help but be a great believer. For instance, what but sheer luck could have brought you aboard my ship?’ “<T admit,’ said I, ‘ that that was a rare- ly fortunate coincidence for me!’ ““* For your’ he said, and looked at me from under those shaggy white brows of his in a way I could not soon forget. “Lucky for you? Well—it was not your luck to which I was referring.’ ‘The first inkling of what he planned came home in me with a shock. I managed to smile. But I was sick at heart. ‘““*F don’t quite follow,’ said I. ““* Come, come!’ said he. ‘ You aren’t such a young ass as all that. At least, you know that I’ve been a collector of precious gems all my life?’ “* Of course I know that,’ I said. ‘““T was beginning to be more and more sure of what was coming to me. But still it seemed impossible. I searched his face. How would he look when he told me his intentions? Well, I had not long to won- der about that. ““WVou know,’ he went on, ‘that the thine which first took me into the Orient was a search for rubies of a certain type?’ ““<T know,’ said I. ‘ I’ve heard the story very often.’ “< 71] show you at a greater length than I show most,’ said he. ‘“He went to a big safe—a safe almost as big as the safe in a bank. It stood at one side of that huge cabin. He unlocked it and took out a drawer. It was not large. On the bottom of it, buried in felt, were the jewels in the hands of Miss Das- com, or at least, most of the jewels were there. “<¢T ook,’ he said, and he spread them out before me. “They were beauties, of course. ““¢Some of them,’ said he, ‘I got in my youth. I was newly in the game, then. I ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. was buying to please my eye, and my eye at that time was terribly uneducated. But I kept on trying, and I kept on learning. There is nothing like the lesson which ex- perience teaches. She gives no preliminary examples for warning; she allows no time for study. One is simply brought around a corner and confronted with an examina- tion. That was the way with me. I picked up my knowledge of gems in-odd corners, and here and there. I was tremendously cheated, I can assure you.’ ‘** But in the end,’ I said, ‘ you learned.’ ‘“* T began too late to learn a great deal,’ he said. ‘ But still I do fairly well. Take this pearl of yours, for instance. It looks to me as though it is not of the first qual- ity. It is very large, of course, but it is not of the first quality.’ “{T smiled at him. It was a subject about which no man knows everything, but on which I was as well up as most. I asked for a magnifying glass. When he gave it to me, I studied the pearl. Ever since I started on the expedition, of course, pearls had been much in my mind, and I had at the tips of my fingers all of the points which one should look for in such a jewel. ‘“ And when I had completed the exami- nation, I closed the glass with a snap. ‘“*T don’t like to challenge the opinion of an acknowledged expert like yourself,’ said I, ‘ but I believe that pearl to be near- ly flawless in spite of its great size.’ “¢ Well, well,’ said the old rascal, shak- ing his head at me. ‘ You don’t mean it, my boy. You don’t mean it! What would buy it from you?’ ‘T laughed. I sat back against the pil- lows at the head of the bunk and laughed. It seemed to me that every joy, every pleasure in the world was just at the tips of my fingers, waiting to be picked up. God how I had longed for wealth, and now I was rich. “<Tt is worth,’ said I, ‘ exactly what the purchaser can afford to pay for it.’ «Vou mean it is beyond price?’ ‘““*T shall tell you what I intend to do,’ T said to him. ‘I intend to take it to Paris and let the dealers fight for it, not because I intend to sell it there, but because I wish conmicheaks,.co