"So certain am I," exclaimed he, "that the stone is of the first water, that I shall be happy to purchase it, if you will let me."
"I will not sell it to you," replied Andréas.
"Why not?"
"Because, in the first place, I do not want to rob you of your money; and in the second, it is a family relic, which I do not wish to part with. One of my uncles left it to me, and he had it from his father. It has been in our family for a hundred years, and is called "the paste ring." I only wear it, because it is considered a charm against headaches, to which I am very subject."
"But if I offered you a good price?" persisted Béroli.
"If you offered me four times its value, I would not part with it."
"Suppose I offered you, not four times, but two or three hundred times, the value you set on the stone?"
Andréas cut short all further colloquy by continuing the game. "Diamonds," said he, "and I have what they call 'la fourchette.' I mark one."
As soon as the game was ended, Béroli, who was very tenacious of his reputation as a connoisseur in precious stones, returned to the charge.
"I am so sure of what I aver," continued he, "that I shall always be ready to bargain for your ring, whenever you wish to part with it."