“And haven’t you written for further particulars?”
“I have been thinking of doing so. You would advise me to write to the doctor?”
“Certainly. And what about the book?”
“It was sealed up when I got it. I don’t think the doctor had seen it.”
“It is something very rare? Meyrick was a collector, perhaps?”
“No, I think not, hardly a collector. Now, what do you think of these Ainu jugs?”
“They are peculiar, but I like them. But aren’t you going to show me poor Meyrick’s legacy?”
“Yes, yes, to be sure. The fact is, it’s rather a peculiar sort of thing, and I haven’t shown it to any one. I wouldn’t say anything about it if I were you. There it is.”
Villiers took the book, and opened it at haphazard.
“It isn’t a printed volume, then?” he said.