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Rh "I will be perfectly frank with you," he said after an instant. "I did not believe a false jewel would be substituted. I wanted to see this stone—but only partly because it could make a girl like Miss Regan promise to marry a Malay. I had another long argument with Baraka, at the end of which he acknowledged the justice of my claim and opened the box and showed me the emerald."

"It was the real one?" McAdams inquired.

"I am no judge of jewels," Hereford replied; "but the stone itself was proof of its own identity. It is a wonderful, an amazing gem. I could understand better, after I had seen it, the effect it had had upon my ward. Yes, it was the real one."

"You left the envoy after he had showed you the stone?" McAdams asked.