“And you never heard of an adopted daughter? Then listen to this.”
McGregor opened a file and produced a letter written in English on cheap ruled paper.
“This is from Number 888—Sirdar Sirohe Singh of Tilguan, who has been on the secret roster since before my time. His home is somewhere near the mission. ‘Number 888 to Number 1. Important. Miss Sanburn of mission near here did procure fragment of crystal jade by unknown means, same having been broken from antiquity of unknown whereabouts and being reputed to possess mysterious qualities. Miss Sanburn’s adopted daughter’—get that?—‘intending to return same, was prevented by theft of fragment, female thief being subsequently murdered by being thrown from precipice, after which, fragment disappeared totally. Search for fragment being now conducted by anonymous individuals. Should say much trouble will ensue unless recovery is prompt and secret. Miss Sanburn’s adopted daughter’—get that again?—‘has vanished. Should advise much precaution not to arouse public curiosity. 888.’—“What do you make of it?” asked McGregor.
“Nothing. Never heard of an adopted daughter.”
“Then what do you make of this?”
McGregor’s left hand went into a desk-drawer, and something the color of deep sea-water over a sandy bottom flashed in the sunlight as Ommony caught it. He held it to the light. It was stone, not more than two inches thick at the thickest part, and rather larger than the palm of his hand. It was so transparent he could see his fingers through it; yet it was almost fabulously green. One side was curved, and polished so perfectly that it felt like wet soap to the touch; the other side was nearly a plane surface, only slightly uneven, as if it had been split off from another piece.
“It looks like jade,” said Ommony.
“It is. But did you ever see jade like it? Hold it to the light again.”
There was not a flaw. The sun shone through it as through glass, except that when the stone was moved there was a vague obscurity, as if the plane where the breakage had occurred in some way distorted the light.
“Keep on looking at it,” said McGregor, watching.