CHAPTER XIII
ABDUL HAMID’S JEWELS
Rudolph Rayne, though the ruler of aristocratic Crookdom, was sometimes most sympathetic and generous towards lovers.
The following well illustrates his strange abnormal personality and complex nature:
One night I chanced to enter his bedroom at Half Moon Street, when I found him looking critically through a quantity of the most magnificent sparkling gems my eyes had ever seen. Some were set as pendants, brooches, and earrings, while others—great rubies and emeralds of immense value—were uncut.
As I entered he put his hands over them in distinct annoyance. Then, a few seconds later, removed them, saying with a queer laugh:
“A nice little lot this, eh? One of the very finest collections I’ve seen.”
On the table lay a pair of jewelers’ tweezers and a magnifying glass, therefore it was apparent that, as a connoisseur of gems, he had been estimating their value.
“By Jove!” I exclaimed. “They certainly are magnificent! Whose are they?”