It is enclosed, as it
were, in a thick casing of rock."
"Did Hardiman know this?" Quarles asked.
"I am not sure. In the course of conversation I told him that I knew
something about diamonds, and he asked me into his cabin to show me some
bits of rock he had in his trunk. He spoke of them as bits of rock, but
he may have known what they really were."
"Did he give you this invitation quite openly?" asked Quarles.
"Oh, yes. There were others sitting near us who must have overheard it. I
went with him, and gave him my opinion as I have given it to you. Of
course, there may not be a jewel at the heart of every bit of rock; no
doubt there are a great many quite useless bits in Hardiman's
collection."
"This is very interesting," said Quarles. "Would you look at the pieces
in that bag and tell us if any of them are useless."
Majendie spent some minutes in examining them, and then gave it as his
opinion that they all contained a jewel.
"Now that knife--"
"I thought no knife had been found," said Majendie.
"That has just been found on the ship," said Quarles. "It is an absurd
question, but as a matter of form I must ask it.
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