"
"A diamond!" shrieked Rosa. "No wonder my fingers trembled. Oh, can
it be? Oh, you good, cold-blooded Christie!--Poor things!--Come along,
Diamond! Oh you beauty! Oh you duck!"
"Don't be in such a hurry. I only said I thought it was a diamond. Let
me weigh it against water, and then I shall KNOW."
He took it to his little laboratory, and returned in a few minutes, and
said, "Yes. It is just three times and a half heavier than water. It is
a diamond."
"Are you positive?"
"I'll stake my existence."
"What is it worth?"
"My dear, I'm not a jeweller: but it is very large and pear-shaped,
and I see no flaw: I don't think you could buy it for less than three
hundred pounds."
"Three hundred pounds! It is worth three hundred pounds."
"Or sell it for more than a hundred and fifty pounds."
"A hundred and fifty! It is worth a hundred and fifty pounds."
"Why, my dear, one would think you had invented 'the diamond.' Show me
how to crystallize carbon, and I will share your enthusiasm."
"Oh, I leave you to carbonize crystal. I prefer to gladden hearts: and I
will do it this minute, with my diamond."
"Do, dear; and I will take that opportunity to finish my article on
Adulteration.
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