I've
made an important appointment for you tomorrow morning with a friend of
mine." But not another word concerning the mystery would the lawyer say.
Both he and his sister went about with a queer smile, and treated Beryl
as fond (and rich) parents might a good child on Christmas Eve.
The next morning Miss Effie started the two of them off for the
"appointment" with a fluttery excitement bordering on hysteria.
"You'll think, my dear, you've rubbed Aladdin's lamp," she whispered to
Beryl, patting down the neat white collar of Beryl's coat.
Beryl thought of her words when she followed Mr. Allendyce through a
long dim room, crowded with treasures of fabric and ceramic, rich in
coloring, fragrant of oriental perfumes.
"He's a collector," Cornelius Allendyce explained, nodding sideways and
hurrying on to a room in the back, as though their errand had nothing to
do with the curious things about them.
"Ah, there, Eugene, we're here! Miss Lynch, this is Eugene Dominez,
known to two continents as that rare specimen, an honest collector; to
me, the only man I can't beat at chess!"
A very small man rose from a great carved chair.
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