ave a great deal. I take it you are from the north of
Ireland, either Londonderry or near there. Am I right?"

"I'm from Lifford, within reach of it. How the divil did ye know?"

"I can tell from your brogue. How long have you been in this country?"

"About five years--going on six now. How long have you been here?"

"How long? Well--" Here he bent over the table against which he had been
leaning, selected a cup from a group of china, turned it upside down
in search of the mark, and then, as if he had momentarily forgotten
himself, answered slowly: "Oh, not long--a few months or so. You do not
object to my looking these over?" he asked, this time reversing a plate
and subjecting it to the same scrutiny.

"No, so ye don't let go of 'em. Fellow come in here last week and broke
a teapot foolin' wid it."

The visitor, without replying, continued his cool examination of the
collection, consisting of articles of different makes and colors.
Presently, gathering up a pair of cups and saucers, he said: "These
should be in a glass case or in the safe. They are old Spode and very
rare. Ah, here is Mr. Kling! I have amused myself, sir, in looking over
part of your stock. You seem to have undervalued these cups and saucers.
They are very rare, and if you had a full set of them they would be
almost priceless. This is old Spode," he continued, pointing to the
cipher on the bottom of each cup.

"Vell, I didn't tink dot ven I bought it."

There was no greeting, no reference to their having met before. One
might have supposed that their last talk had been uninterrupted.

"It vas all in a lump, and der vas a soup tureen in de lot--I don't know
vot I did vid it. I tink dat's up-stairs. Mike, you go up and ask my
little girl Masie if she can find dot big tureen vich I bought from old
Mrs. Blobbs who keeps dot old-clothes place on Second Avenue. And you
vas sure about dis china?"

"Very sure."

"How do you know?"

"From the mark."

"Vot's it vorth?"

"The cups and saucers would bring about two pounds apiece in London. If
there were a full dozen they would bring a matter of fifteen or twenty
pounds--some hundred dollars of your money."

Kling stepped nearer and peered intently at the stranger. "You give dot
for dem?"

The man's eyebrows narrowed. "I am not buying cups at present," he
answered, with quiet dignity, "but they are worth what I tell you.

"And now tell me vot dis tureen is vorth?" he asked as Mike reappeared