"Head hunters," translated Biff to Chandra. "He wants to know if you have them, too."
"We have something much worse," declared Chandra solemnly. "We have thugs, or stranglers, who ride on trains with us. They are after your ruby, Biff, if you still have it."
Anxiously, Biff brought the bag from his pocket, opened it and held the Light of the Lama in his palm, where it caught the glint of the sunlight and reflected it with a vivid crimson sparkle that seemed to dye Biff's entire hand. The great ruby was larger than the biggest walnut, and as Biff turned it in the light, its flattened surfaces, or facets, rivaled one another with their fiery glow.
Chandra, who had been around the gem markets of Calcutta and other Indian cities, and Kamuka, who had seen the finest of South American stones during his studies in Brazil—both were swept with awe.
"Never have I seen such fire!" exclaimed Chandra. "The red ruby, like the blue sapphire, is often beautiful in color, yet very dull."
"This one loses its sparkle sometimes," Biff declared. "And according to
Mr. Chand, it's a bad sign when it does."
"It gives us a good sign now," observed Kamuka. "In South America, we have the finest of all gems, the green emerald from Colombia. They say it glows brighter than any red ruby, but now I am not so sure."
Biff smiled, as he recalled Kamuka's debates with Li while they were on the freighter voyage. For Kamuka to admit that a product of South America could be matched by those of any other continent, was a concession indeed.
"That ruby," calculated Chandra, "must be worth ten lakhs at least, ten times a hundred thousand rupees. But that is not why your father wants it. He needs it for some special purpose; that was why he went to New Delhi. That much I have heard Mr. Chand tell Jinnah Jad."
"So it was through Jinnah Jad," inquired Biff, "that my father's message reached me?"