'Now, Signor——'
'Calvotti'—I helped him with my name.
'Now, Signor Calvotti, what do you want for the lot?'
I entered into his business humour as well as I could.
'Permit me to ask what you are prepared to give?'
'Oh,' he said emphatically, 'I can't be buyer and seller. How much for the lot?'
I thought it over. I knew the pictures were good—that they were better than many I had seen sold for high prices. I spoke quietly, but with inward desperation.
'A hundred pounds.'
My landlady clasped her hands.
'What?' said the stranger sharply. 'Say seventy-five.'