Her violet eyes were on her plate; her face was very pale. She was
trembling; her even teeth were sunk deep into her full red lip.
"Valyne!" I whispered. "What is it, darling?"
She merely shook her head a little. She didn't speak or lift her eyes.
"Copper and tin?" Sarah Kyle's cracked voice was repeating. "And ye
found it profitable?"
Doctor Kyle silently resumed his place.
His wife asked some inaudible question, and I caught his whispered
reply:
"It's restless--hungry, perhaps. Jud is late, today."
His dark, brilliant eyes looked across at me.
"I must beg your pardon for this mystery, Clay. Please finish your
supper. Later you will understand." Then he asked, as if to launch a
conversation, "Have you any collection of Chinese art?"
"No," I said jerkily. "Yes, a few pieces of good jade."