The girl had a sudden inspiration.
“Lord Eckhart got these jewels from you?”
The man paused, he seemed to be moving the girl's words backward through the intervening languages.
Then he replied.
“Yes,” he said, “from us.”
The girl's inspiration was now illumined by a further light.
“And you have not been paid for them?”
The man stood up now. And again this involved process of moving the words back through various translations was visible—and the answer up.
“Yes—” he said, “we have been paid.”
Then he added, in explanation of his act.