y depreciated; but a diamond with
a positive color is called a fancy stone, and ranks with the purest
stones.

"I wish I had this in Cape Town," said Staines.

"Why, I'll take it to Cape Town, if you like," said the changeable
Falcon.

"You will?" said Christopher, surprised.

"Why not? I'm not much of a digger. I can serve our interest better by
selling. I could get a thousand pounds for this at Cape Town."

"We will talk of that quietly," said Christopher.

Now, the fact is, Falcon, as a digger, was not worth a pin. He could not
sort. His eyes would not bear the blinding glare of a tropical sun upon
lime and dazzling bits of mica, quartz, crystal, white topaz, etc., in
the midst of which the true glint of the royal stone had to be caught in
a moment. He could not sort, and he had not the heart to dig. The only
way to make him earn his half was to turn him into the travelling and
selling partner.

Christopher was too generous to tell him this; but he acted on it, and
said he thought his was an excellent proposal; indeed, he had better
take all the diamonds they had got to Dale's Kloof first, and show them
to his wife, for her consolation: "And perhaps," said he, "in a matter
of this importance, she will go to Cape Town with you, and try the
market there."

"All right," said Falcon.

He sat and brooded over the matter a long time, and said, "Why make two
bites of a cherry? They will only give us half the value at Cape Town;
why not go by the steamer to England, before the London market is
glutted, and all the world finds out that diamonds are as common as
dirt?"

"Go to England! What! without your wife? I'll never be a party to that.
Me part man and wife! If you knew my own story"--

"Why, who wants you?" said Reginald. "You don't understand. Phoebe is
dying to visit England again; but she has got no excuse. If you like to
give her one, she will be much obliged to you, I can tell you."

"Oh, that is a very different matter. If Mrs. Falcon can leave her
farm--"

"Oh, that brute of a brother of hers is a very honest fellow, for that
matter. She can trust the farm to him. Besides, it is only a month's
voyage by the mail steamer."

This suggestion of Falcon's set Christopher's heart bounding, and his
eyes glistening. But he restrained himself, and said, "This takes me by
surprise; let me smoke a pipe over it."

He not only did that, but he lay awake all night.

The fact is that for some time past, Chri