"

"Beg pardon, sir," said the landlord, "but the gentleman says his
business is most pressing."

Gorman reflected. If Goldsturmer had given the landlord five
shillings--and this seemed likely--the business must be very pressing
indeed; and King Konrad Karl could not yet have become an absolute
slave to the virtue of punctuality.

"Show him in here," said Gorman; "that will save time."

Goldsturmer slipped into the room and stood meekly near the door.

"Sit down," said Gorman. "Sit on the bed if you can't find a chair,
and tell me what you want with me, as quickly as you can."

"It's very kind of you," said Goldsturmer, "to receive me at this
hour. Nothing but the very pressing nature of my business--but I will
get to the point. You will doubtless remember a certain rope of
pearls. Let me see, it must have been in March----"

"I don't remember any rope of pearls," said Gorman. "I take no
interest in pearls."

"No? Still I hoped you might recollect those pearls. They were the
finest I ever had in my hands."

Goldsturmer spoke in a tone of pained regret. It seemed to him a sad
thing that there should be any man in the world who took no interest
in pearls.

"Madame Ypsilante bought them," said Goldsturmer.

"There's no use coming to me," said Gorman, "if you've failed to get
your money. I've nothing to do with the lady."

Goldsturmer smiled.

"She paid," he said. "Otherwise she would not have got the pearls.
There was another lady who might have bought them, an American, a Miss
Donovan."

"But Madame got them," said Gorman.

"Yes. But perhaps Miss Donovan might have them now, through me, at the
original price."

Gorman began to be interested.

"Madame tired of them?" he asked. "Wants to sell?"

"Tired of them!" said Goldsturmer. "No. For any one who loves pearls
that would be impossible. But desires to sell. Yes."

"Well," said Gorman. "That's her affair and yours. I don't see that I
have anything to do with it."

"Before I agree to buy," said Goldsturmer, "I should like to be sure
that the American lady, Miss Donovan, still wishes for the pearls. I
do not want to lock up my capital. I cannot afford to lock up so large
a sum. I must be assured of a purchaser before I buy from Madame
Ypsilante. It is not every one who can pay for such pearls. Ah! if you
had seen them! They are suited for the wearing of a queen. Only a
queen should have them."

Miss Donovan was, of course, a queen. Gorman wondere