"I shall not tell," I said. "But how much are they worth."
"I really couldn't say," he said frankly. "There is nothing like them in the world, nothing to measure them by, I mean. It would depend simply on how far the purchaser could go."
"Wouldn't they be difficult to dispose of?"
"Very. That is our hope in the present situation."
"Do you suppose the thief knew what he was getting?"
"I doubt it. To distinguish the blue cast is a fad of my own. They ordinarily go with the black pearls."
Later he returned to the subject of his own accord. "Since you have learned or guessed so much, I should tell you the whole story, for fear you might have a doubt of Miss Hamerton."
"No danger of that," I said quickly.
He looked at me strangely. I suppose he was wondering if I presumed to rival him there. He immediately went on smoothly:
"She, of course, has no suspicion of the true value of the pearls. Nor does she guess that they were in my possession for years. I let her have them one or two at a time. Do you blame me—" he spread out his expressive hands again.