number of merchants. They found
them concealed on them, and they were so well satisfied with the
loot they got, in merchandise that they could dispose of, that I
doubt whether they even opened the little packages of what they
considered the most dangerous goods to keep; for if they were
captured, and gems found upon them, it would be sufficient to
condemn them, at once."

"Do you speak Hindustani? If not, I will send one of the clerks
with you."

"Yes, sir; and three or four other of the Indian languages."

"Ah! Then you can manage for yourself.

"When you have seen one of these Parsees, come round to my office.
I shall have seen the paymaster by that time, and have talked over
with him how we can arrange about the horses. I should think that
the best way would be to have a committee of three officers to
value them, and the saddlery; and then you might authorize him to
receive your extra pay as interpreter, and to place it to
Hitchcock's account. You will find your own staff pay more than
ample, here; as there are no expenses, whatever, except your share
of the mess."

"Thank you very much, indeed, Colonel."

In the morning, Stanley took one of the little parcels from the bag
and opened it. It contained thirty stones, of which twenty were
rubies, six sapphires, and four emeralds. They seemed to him of a
good size but, as they were in the rough state, he had no idea what
size they would be, when cut.

There were three of the Parsee merchants. The first he went to
said, at once, that he did not deal in gems. The next he called on
examined the stones carefully.

"It is impossible to say, for certain," he said, "how much they are
worth until they are cut, for there may be flaws in them that
cannot be detected. Now, if I were to buy them like this, I could
not give more than a hundred rupees each. If they are all flawless,
they would be worth much more; but it would be a pure speculation,
and I will not go beyond that sum."

Stanley then visited the third store. The trader here inspected
them a little more carefully than the last had done, examined them
with a magnifying glass, held them up to the light; then he weighed
each stone and jotted down some figures. At last, he said:

"The stones are worth five thousand rupees. If they are flawless,
they would be worth double that. I will give you five thousand
myself or, if you like, I will send them to a friend of mine, at
Madras. He is one of the best judges of g