“There was evidently a severe struggle in the mind of Caderousse; it was plain that the small shagreen case, which he turned over and over in his hand, did not seem to him commensurate in value to the enormous sum which fascinated his gaze. He turned towards his wife.
“‘What do you think of this?’ he asked in a low voice.
“‘Let him have it—let him have it,’ she said. ‘If he returns to Beaucaire without the diamond, he will inform against us, and, as he says, who knows if we shall ever again see the Abbé Busoni?—in all probability we shall never see him.’
“‘Well, then, so I will!’ said Caderousse; ‘so you may have the diamond for 45,000 francs. But my wife wants a gold chain, and I want a pair of silver buckles.’
“The jeweller drew from his pocket a long flat box, which contained several samples of the articles demanded. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘I am very straightforward in my dealings—take your choice.’
“The woman selected a gold chain worth about five louis, and the husband a pair of buckles, worth perhaps fifteen francs.
“‘I hope you will not complain now?’ said the jeweller.
“‘The abbé told me it was worth 50,000 francs,’ muttered Caderousse.
“‘Come, come—give it to me! What a strange fellow you are,’ said the jeweller, taking the diamond from his hand. ‘I give you 45,000 francs—that is, 2,500 livres of income,—a fortune such as I wish I had myself, and you are not satisfied!’
“‘And the five-and-forty thousand francs,’ inquired Caderousse in a hoarse voice, ‘where are they? Come—let us see them.’