I saw myself ridiculed all over the Continent, and perhaps
dismissed, even suspected of having taken the thing myself.
"I was walking in front of a lighted cafe, and I felt so sick and
miserable that I stopped for a pick-me-up. Then I considered that if
I took one drink I would probably, in my present state of mind, not
want to stop under twenty, and I decided I had better leave it alone.
But my nerves were jumping like a frightened rabbit, and I felt I
must have something to quiet them, or I would go crazy. I reached for
my cigarette-case, but a cigarette seemed hardly adequate, so I put
it back again and took out this cigar-case, in which I keep only the
strongest and blackest cigars. I opened it and stuck in my fingers,
but, instead of a cigar, they touched on a thin leather envelope. My
heart stood perfectly still. I did not dare to look, but I dug my
finger-nails into the leather, and I felt layers of thin paper, then
a layer of cotton, and then they scratched on the facets of the
Czarina's diamonds!
"I stumbled as though I had been hit in the face, and fell back into
one of the chairs on the sidewalk. I tore off the wrappings and
spread out the diamonds on the cafe-table; I could not believe they
were real.
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