Herr Markuse knew Christian.
Ignifer was kept in the safe of a fire-proof and burglar-proof vault.
Herr Markuse lifted the stone out of its case, laid it upon the green
cloth of a table, stepped aside, and looked at Christian.
Christian looked silently at the concentrated radiance of the stone.
His thought was: This is the rarest and costliest thing in the world;
nothing can surpass it. And it was immediately clear to him that he
must own the jewel.
The diamond had the faintest tinge of yellow. It had been cut so that
it had many rich facets. A little groove had been cut into it near one
end, so that a woman could wear it around her neck by a thin chain or
a silken cord.
Herr Markuse lifted it upon a sheet of white paper and breathed upon
it. “It is not of the first water,” he said, “but it has neither rust
nor knots. There is no trace of veins or cracks, no cloudiness or
nodules. Not a flaw. The stone is one of nature’s miracles.”
The price was five hundred and fifty thousand marks. Christian offered
the half million. Herr Markuse consulted his watch. “I promised a lady
that I would hold it,” he declared. “But the promised hour is past.”
They agreed upon five hundred and twenty thousand marks. Half was to
be paid in cash, the other in two notes running for different periods.
“The name of Wahnschaffe is sufficient guarantee,” the merchant said.
Christian weighed the diamond in his hand, and laid it down again.
David Markuse smiled. “In my business one learns how to judge people,”
he said without any familiarity. “You are making this purchase with a
deeper intention than you yourself are probably conscious of. The soul
of the diamond has lured you on. For the diamond has a soul.”
“Do you really mean that?” Christian was surprised.
“I know it. There are people who lose all shame when they see a
beautiful jewel. Their nostrils quiver, their cheeks grow pale, their
hands tremble uncertainly, their pupils expand, and they betray
themselves by every motion. Others are intimidated, or bereft of their
senses, or saddened. You gain curious insights into human nature. The
masks drop. Diamonds make people transparent.”
The indiscreet turn of the conversation irritated Christian. But he had
often before become aware of the fact that something in him seemed to
invite the communicativeness and confidence of others. He arose, and
promised to return that evening.
“The lady of whom I was speaking,” Markuse continued, as he accompanied
him to the door, “and who was here yesterday, is a very wonderful
lady. When she came in, I thought: is it possible for mere walking to
be so beautiful? Well, I soon found out that she is a famous dancer.
She is stopping at the Palace Hotel for a day, on her way from Paris
to Russia, merely in order to see Ignifer. I showed her the stone. She
stood looking at it for at least five minutes. She did not move, and
the expression of her face! Well, if the jewel didn’t represent a large
part of all I have in the world, I would have begged her simply to
keep it. Such moments are not exactly frequent in my business. She was
to have returned to-day, but, as I have told you, she didn’t keep her
engagement.”
“And you don’t know her name?” Christian asked, shyly.
“Oh, yes. Her name is Eva Sorel. Did you ever hear of her?”
The blood came into Christian’s face. He let go the knob of the door.
“Eva Sorel is here?” he murmured. He pulled himself together, and
opened the door to an empty room that was carpeted in red, and the
walls of which were hidden by ebony cases. Almost at the same moment
the opposite door was thrown open; and, followed by four gentlemen, Eva
Sorel crossed the threshold.
Christian stood perfectly still.
“Eidolon!” Eva cried, and she folded her hands in that inimitably
enthusiastic and happy gesture of hers.