“Inside is a pentagram?”
“No; a cross, with seven emeralds as big as that, all flawless.”'
“There are only two such emeralds in the world without flaws and we have one of them. The other is owned by the Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia.”
“He said these were flawless and that he has proofs. He says Eligius studied this—”
“Mr. Merriwether, you have on your hands either a very dangerous impostor or else—H'm! He must be an impostor! How much does he want?”
“It is not for sale!”
“H'm! Worse and worse! If I can be of use let me know! They'll fool us all! All! Good day!” And Dr. Lentz walked away, leaving Tom more puzzled than ever, but now determined to go to 7 East Seventy-seventh Street at eight o'clock that night.
He went home and wrote an account of what had happened, placed it in an envelope, sealed the envelope, and gave it to his valet.
“If you don't hear from me by ten o'clock tonight give this to my father; but don't give it to him one minute before ten. And you stay in until you hear from me.”
“Very good, sir.”