Majendie spent some minutes in examining them, and then gave it as his opinion that they all contained a jewel.
"Now that knife—"
"I thought no knife had been found," said Majendie.
"That has just been found on the ship," said Quarles. "It is an absurd question, but as a matter of form I must ask it. Have you ever seen that knife before?"
Majendie took it up and looked at it.
"Hardiman was apparently stabbed with a rusty knife," Quarles remarked.
"Stabbed! You could not stab any one with this, and certainly I have never seen it before."
I did not understand why Quarles was passing this off as the real weapon. He took it up, grasped it firmly, and stabbed the air with it.
"I don't know, it might—"
He shook his head and put the knife on the table again. Majendie took it up and in his turn stabbed the air with it.