At the back lay a kitchen and servants' room, where his cook and housekeeper lived; on the other side of the hall was a room which belonged to the servant-man. Jurgens himself lived in a room looking out on the street, and the remaining three rooms, which likewise looked to the street, gave him ample space for his collection of antiquities and other curiosities.
By my advice, he had taken a lot of precautions to protect himself against thieves. There were strong doors provided with patent locks, iron bars before the windows, and some fire-proof iron safes as a place of deposit for the most costly articles.
The man-servant opened the door to me. The reason why the lawyer had a man-servant was, as I have already mentioned, because his feet were almost lame. He could just manage to get along from one room to another, with much difficulty; but in the street he was obliged to be wheeled in a chair. Otherwise the lawyer was a man of small pretensions, and notwithstanding his large fortune, was very economical. That is to say, in everything possible, except what concerned his collection. In this respect he was, as already mentioned, irresponsibly extravagant.
The old lawyer got up with difficulty from his armchair and tottered toward me.
He shook me by the hand, fumbling a long gold chain, which he wore round his neck, with the other hand, and himself began the conversation.
His voice was a little shaky, and he seemed to be uneasy when he saw me; but it was difficult to say if these symptoms were a natural consequence of the man's age, or if he really had something to hide, and felt uneasy at my appearance.
"Well, really, Mr. Monk," he said, "it is a long time since I had the honour of seeing you at my house. May I perhaps have the pleasure of showing you some rare curiosities which I have lately acquired? You have generally so little time that I believe you have really never seen my collection properly."
These words proved to me that if the old man had the diamond in his possession, he had it in a safe hiding place, and of these there were plenty. The old furniture was full of the most extraordinary corners, secret places, drawers, and such-like.
"Many thanks, Mr. Jurgens," I answered promptly, "but this time I am here on official business, and have still less time than usual."
"What a pity," grumbled the old fellow, letting himself fall back into his chair, and taking a pinch of snuff with his shaky hands. "Any snuff? No, young fellows nowadays don't take snuff; but take a seat, Mr. Monk, take a seat!"