“And how did it come?”
“A messenger brought it to me.”
“And where did the messenger say he was from?”
“From the store that sold it, some antique dealer. I’ve forgotten the name. He said he’d received instructions to deliver it to me. He said he’d been holding it for a young lady who had paid a deposit on it and who had just recently completed—”
“You told this to Bollman? To whom else did you tell it?”
“To Thinwell, the man who drives me around and—”
“Fry me for an oyster!” Bertha exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
“What’s the matter?” Kosling asked.
“Of all the numskulls, of all the thick-pated Dumb Doras!”
“Who?”