The man behind the counter stared at him for a moment, but he reached over for the stone. Without a word he placed it beneath the microscope and gave it a very brief examination. Then he pressed it against his cheek.
"Where did you get it?" he asked.
"I found it where it had fallen on the pavement."
"Are you sure?"
"Quite sure."
"Strange!" was the muttered comment, and Philip began to understand that his meteor possessed attributes hitherto unsuspected.
"But what is it?" he inquired, after a pause.
"A meteoric diamond."
"A meteoric diamond?"
"Yes."