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220
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Gem Trader
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or
two ounces troy, of which the centre bead measured half an inch in
diameter and the end beads one-sixth of an inch. That was all. But it
will give the uninitiated some idea of the intrinsic value of the gem.
Of
ordinary trader's Jade I had my fill during those years when American
and European war profiteers sought new ways of spending their recently
acquired wealth.
I
have related elsewhere the quest for Jade which took me to Canton,
where, in my eagerness to purchase a considerable quantity of the gem
for immediate shipment to Europe, I had overlooked a warning displayed
prominently at the gate of a certain plague-infested section of the
city, and how subsequently, laden with my purchases, I returned to my
hotel in the British Concession of Shameen, to be told by the porter of
the terrible risk I had run.
I
figured that I had to act quickly, and as no strong disinfectant was
handy, I ordered a large quantity of Scotch whisky (Japanese variety)
to be poured into my bath-tub. All the Jade I had purchased, every
stitch of my clothing and I myself went into that brew. When my boy
fished me out I could tell by the dreadful smell of the vile liquor of
Nippon that no self-respecting plague bacillus would risk facing such
ignominy again. I therefore despatched my Jade to Europe as soon as I
was restored to normal and without further scruples. I am glad to be
able to put on record that not one of my esteemed clients died of the
plague, a great relief to me as a fellow human being and as a trader
who likes to keep his customers.
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