“But you cannot see much of my face.”
“That’s so! The beard hides it! If it were not for that beard I might recognize you.”
“Possibly. If I shave the beard, I may come round to see you. Just now I have to leave you, for I have an appointment that must be kept. This night the little stick may pass from my hands forever.”
“You—you will get rid of it?”
“If I get my price.”
“Who wants it?”
“A certain half-crazy doctor who dabbles in things occult and investigates everything mysterious. He is believed to be a wizard and sorcerer by many who have seen him work his strange incantations. But the man has located diamond-mines, found buried treasure, and is wonderfully wealthy. Thus his black art has paid him in a certain way, though some claim he has sold himself to the devil to obtain his ends. He wants this stick. He found out about it a number of years ago, and once he nearly lost his life in an attempt to steal it from the temple where it was kept. It is possible the thing was stolen afterward at his instigation, but failed to reach his hands.”
“He knows you have it?”
“I have communicated with him, making the claim. He has promised to investigate. If I can convince him that I speak the truth, he will pay me liberally for it. Liberally means that he will give up a fortune just to get the stick into his hands, for he fancies it will enable him to explore all the dark things he has hitherto found impregnable.”
“Well, if I were you,” said Frank, “I should lose no time in getting to him and making a trade.”