Page:Guy Boothby--A Bid for Fortune.djvu/289

Rh a queer sort of service I rendered him, and I think I should like to keep it as a souvenir.'

"'I will raise my offer to a hundred pounds in that case,' said Nikola.

"'I would rather not part with it,' I said, and as I spoke, as if to clinch the matter, I took it up and returned it to the safe, taking care to lock the door upon it.

"'I will give you five hundred pounds for it,' cried Nikola, now thoroughly excited. 'Surely that will tempt you?'

"'I'm afraid an offer of ten times that amount would make no difference,' I replied, feeling more convinced than ever that I would not part with it.

"He laid himself back in his chair and for nearly a minute and a half stared me full in the face. You have seen Nikola's eyes, so I needn't tell you what a queer effect they are able to produce. I could not withdraw mine from them, and I felt that if I did not make an effort I should be mesmerised. So, pulling myself together, I sprang from my chair, and, by doing so, let him see that our interview was at an end. However, he was not going without a farewell attempt to come to a bargain. When he saw that I was not to be moved, his temper gave way, and he bluntly told me that I would have to sell it to him.

"'There is no compulsion in the matter,' I said warmly. 'The curio is my own property and I will do just as I please with it.'

"He thereupon begged my pardon, asking me to attribute his impatience to the collector's eagerness; and after a few last words bade me 'good-night,' and left the house.

"When his cab had rolled away I went back to my