"That, if I give you a meeting here, and come disguised and alone, I have probably an object."
"Of course! You wish to remain incog."
"You are full of penetration, my dear sir; and yet we can come to an understanding."
"I do not see how, unless you consent to what I ask."
"You are a judge of diamonds, since we have hitherto only bargained in them."
"That is true, I am a tolerable judge of them."
"Here is one that is worth 100,000 crowns, take it."
And he offered a small case of black shagreen.
The Major eagerly seized it.
"But," he objected, "how can I be certain that you are not deceiving me?"