Cockney, said with a drunken leer, "They'll—be—a—right— a—right," and fell fast asleep where he sat.
I
picked up my poor pearls and walked out with a great headache. I had no
idea what I should say to the great lady when she called in a day or so
for her necklace. The worst of it was she had paid me for the eight
pearls and could claim of me now anything she had a mind to. Then I
remembered that I had met on the steamer coming out an electrical
engineer who had just joined an important concern in Hong Kong. I
jumped at once into a fast car and drove to the works. There I
explained my predicament and suggested that my electrical friend should
place the pearls under their most powerful electro-magnet in order to
extract the steel.
Nearly
every engineer at the works gathered round us, while he busied himself
with the job. But the pieces of steel were buried deep and stuck fast.
Then the engineer as a last resort offered to drill the pearls from the
opposite side and force or drill out the steel. He confessed he had
never done anything of the kind before, but I accepted eagerly at my
own risk. My confidence was justified. He succeeded perfectly with
every piece of the eight. It was amazing the precision with which he
found the right spot, so that when drilled the pearl should ride true
on the silk. When the lady called for her string of beads, I felt like
telling her of the adventures her pearls had passed through, but lest
she think they were the worse for these experiences I desisted.
When
she was in my office, this same lady admired a set of antique Chinese
panels on my wall representing the four seasons, skillfully inlaid with
ivory, rose quartz and Chinese jade.
"How much for these?" she inquired, pointing to the panels.
"I'm sorry, madam," I said, "they are not for sale."
"I
am sorry for you," the lady remarked, "but I've set my heart on them
and I shall buy them. I'll send my husband to see you to-morrow."
When my stockbroker landlord returned from 'Change, I
