“Your advice is good, Paul. I think we will follow it. When will you go?”
“I will go at once. I have nothing else to do, and I would like to find out as soon as I can how much it will bring. Old Henderson wanted me to think, at first, that it was only imitation, and offered me twenty shillings on it. He's an old cheat. When he found that I wasn't to be humbugged, he raised his offer by degrees to twenty-five dollars. That was what made me suspect its value.”
“If you get a hundred dollars, Paul,” said Jimmy, “you can buy out the stand.”
“That depends on whether mother will lend me the money,” said Paul. “You know it's hers. She may not be willing to lend without security.”
“I am so unaccustomed to being a capitalist,” said Mrs. Hoffman, smiling, “that I shan't know how to sustain the character. I don't think I shall be afraid to trust you, Paul.”
Once more, with the ring carefully wrapped in a paper and deposited in his pocketbook, Paul started uptown. Tiffany, whose fame as a jeweler is world-wide, was located on Broadway. He had not yet removed to his present magnificent store on Union Square.
Paul knew the store, but had never entered it. Now, as he entered, he was struck with astonishment at the sight of the immense and costly stock, unrivaled by any similar establishment, not only in the United States, but in Europe. Our hero walked up to the counter, and stood beside a richly-dressed lady who was bargaining for a costly bracelet. He had to wait ten minutes while the lady was making her choice from a number submitted to her for inspection. Finally she selected one, and paid for it. The clerk, now being at leisure, turned to our hero and asked:—
“Well, young man, what can I do for you?”
“I have a ring which I should like to show you. I want to know how much it is worth.”
“Very well. Let me see it.”