"Bother the Pearl," said Altamont. "We mean the title."
"What the deuce are you drivin' at?"
"Haven't you seen the papers?"
"Crowds of 'em, and lawyers' letters too. My head's buzzin' with 'em. What is it this time?"
"Your cousin tumbled down some stone steps in Vienna last night, and you are Lord Travers now—that's all!"
Danby sat down. This final stroke of fortune was too much for him.
"I can't say I'm sorry," he blurted at length. "Bertram wouldn't have been sorry if it had been me. And I'm glad about the title because of——. Here, I say, you fellows, what's come over the world since last night?"
"The Black Pearl of the Illingworths has changed hands, we hope," said the Secretary, who wanted to start the business of the evening.
"The Black Pearl has, and the Luck of the Illingworths went with it. They've had a fire, and I've got a bequest and a title. Perhaps you fellows'll be more superstitious in future. That's what brought my luck, anyway." Saying which, he produced the Black Pearl of Agni.
To his unbounded joy and immense surprise Lord Illingworth received the missing stone from London during the course of the next day.