The Stolen Sapphire. Sarah Masters Buckey
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Название: The Stolen Sapphire
Автор: Sarah Masters Buckey
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Учебная литература
Серия: American Girl
isbn: 9781609587246
isbn:
The Professor patted the breast pocket of his dinner jacket. “Madam, I carry the Blue Star with me at all times.” Then he picked up his knife and fork again. “Now, however, is not the time for a display—we must give all our attention to this fine dinner.”
Captain Newman steered the conversation to other topics. But after dinner was over and the stewards had removed the last dishes from the table, Mrs. Billingsley brought up the jewel again. “Professor,” she implored, fingering the diamond pendant on her necklace, “do you think you might now be able to give us all the tiniest peek at the Blue Star? It would be such an honor to see it.”
“Well…” the Professor hesitated.
“What’s the harm in it?” Mr. Billingsley urged. He was a stout man with small, close-set eyes. He looked around the circle of faces at the table and smiled broadly. “Surely you can trust all of us here.”
“Very well,” the Professor agreed. He didn’t seem too reluctant, and Samantha guessed that he enjoyed showing others his prized possession. “Harry, please lock the door,” the Professor directed. “I don’t want anyone to come in.”
As Harry followed his uncle’s instructions, Professor Wharton stood up and removed a small, dark green box from his breast pocket. Holding the box cupped in one hand, he pulled out his key ring and unlocked the box with a tiny key. Samantha bent forward in her chair as Professor Wharton carefully placed the closed box in the center of the table, right beneath the flickering lights of the candelabra.
The Professor stepped back for a moment. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced dramatically. He paused, reached forward, and lifted the lid of the box. “The Blue Star.”
There was a gasp around the table, as everyone leaned forward to see the shimmering blue sapphire. The radiant jewel was almost as big as a polished chestnut, and it caught the candlelight and glowed against its bed of dark velvet.
“Look closely, and you can see the star within it,” the Professor advised.
Leaning even farther toward the gleaming jewel, Samantha saw a distinct pattern within the stone, like a tiny starfish caught in blue ice.
For a few moments, there was a tense silence in the room. Then Mrs. Billingsley asked in a choked voice, “How—how much would it cost?” She was staring at the stone as if transfixed.
“It’s not for sale,” Professor Wharton said curtly.
“I collect fine jewels myself, and I know that anything can be bought,” Mr. Billingsley protested. “It’s just a question of price. What’s your price, sir?”
Samantha was shocked by Mr. Billingsley’s rudeness, but Harry answered him politely. “That may usually be the case, sir. But my uncle is determined that the Blue Star be given to a museum.”
“Indeed I am,” said Professor Wharton. He retrieved the box, and closed and locked it. “A treasure like this should be shared with the whole world,” he declared as he slipped the box back into his innermost pocket. “And I intend to personally hand the Blue Star to museum officials in London.”
“Since the stone is so valuable, why don’t we put it into the ship’s safe?” suggested Captain Newman.
Harry coughed significantly. “According to legend, anyone who carries the Blue Star will suffer bad luck,” he explained. “Of course, it’s a foolish superstition, but my uncle and I nonetheless feel it’s our responsibility to carry the stone ourselves.”
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