But Mr. Bressani did not reply. Lost in wonder, apparently
unconscious of his surroundings, he turned the object over and over,
in every light, and at every angle. "Extraordinary!" he murmured.
"Extraordinary! It doesn't seem possible."
"But are you sure?" repeated the Senior Partner.
"Absolutely."
"But who ever saw such a diamond?"
"Nobody! Nobody! It's incredible--miraculous--inconceivable. There
never _was_ such a thing!"
"Just what I have been saying," from the Senior Partner. "Nobody would
ever cut a diamond in that shape. And look at the size of it! And the
color!"
"Yes, yes! It's hard to believe!"
"But you _do_ believe it?"
The bushy eyebrows went up, then down, with a shrug of shoulders.
"Believe it? I know it! What do _you_ think it is, glass?"
"Well--er--yes, to be honest. I didn't know what else it could be. No
human being ever saw a diamond of those dimensions."
"We are seeing it now. But whose is it?"
"It belongs to Mr. Alton."
"I congratulate you, Mr. Alton. You possess the most amazing diamond in
history or fiction."