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Rh because he was in need of every bit of money that he could get.

As for Rosenthal, he had been quick to appreciate the perfection of the string and had no doubt made Delmas a good offer. With a profit of perhaps ten or twenty thousand francs before his eyes, and being bound only by his verbal agreement, the dealer had decided to take a chance.

The Baron had pushed back his chair and was staring up at the ceiling. The big Jew was sadly puzzled. Knowing nothing of the striking resemblance between John and myself, he had no solution to the mystery. There was no way of his guessing that the dealer had taken me for Mr. Cuttynge, and Rosenthal was at a loss to understand why it was that when I had apparently stolen the jewels and then sold them, as "Mr. Cuttynge," I should lug him down there to row the dealer. But he felt that there was something behind it all, so he merely sat tight and kept his mouth shut and waited for the mystery to clear.

There was nothing I cared to say to the dealer just then, so I merely remarked: "Well, M. Delmas, as you say, you have not acted properly in this matter. A man with such a reputation as yours ought to stick to his word. It is because of that reputation that the people having business with you do not demand written agreements. I must think over this affair. As a matter of fact, since you bought the pearls certain events have occurred which would enable Mrs. Cuttynge to buy them back. It is possible that Baron Rosenthal and I may be able to arrange the matter between ourselves."