Mrs. Everdail bent forward, and then looked up sharply.
“I don’t know about that?” She turned to her husband.
“Atley,” she said, excited and nervous. “Look here!” The man almost raced around the library table, bending close to where her finger touched the dark green showing through the adhesive gum.
“I don’t see anything—out of the way,” he replied to her look.
The Sky Patrol saw her expression and each grew taut with excitement at her next words.
“Don’t you see? Can’t you?” She raised her voice to a shrill pitch of excitement.
“I see one of the emeralds——”
“Don’t you see that it is pitted—burned—by acid?”
“Glory-gracious-golly!” Larry was agitated enough to couple all the exclamations.
“This isn’t the Everdail Emerald,” the lady was almost screaming, her hands trembled as she pointed. “It is the emerald that I had in the hotel room——”