realizing it!
CHAPTER IV
THE next ten minutes seemed very uneventful. During that period, Simon
Benisette kept muttering to himself as he inspected the interior of the Chinese
chest, rubbing the woodwork and nodding his appreciation.
When he began to examine the outside, Benisette admired the brass work and
the carving. Then, abruptly, he turned with a smile so genial that Margo stared
in total amazement.
"A fine chest," complimented Benisette. "Worth the five thousand dollars,
Talcott. And you are right, Miss Lane" - he gave an appreciative bow - "when you
say that a place should never become cluttered. My living room is small and this
chest will take up considerable space. But I have an idea!"
His smile broadening, Benisette turned to Talcott and gave a gesture toward
the open chest.
"I shall keep the dancer statue in it!"
"An excellent idea," said Talcott, with a routine nod. "After all, the
statue arrived in the chest."
"Even though it didn't belong there," chuckled Benisette, deeply. Then,
wagging a big finger: "You rascal, Talcott! To make a double sale from a single
purchase."
"Two sales at half price," reminded Talcott. "You heard what Graff
offered."
A hissing tone came from Benisette's lips; his old glare returned, directed
toward the office.
"What's keeping Graff?" demanded Benisette. "He can't be talking to anyone
who trusts him, because no one does. He is trying to trick me, Talcott -"
"Easy, Mr. Benisette," interposed Talcott. "By the way, do you have that
color picture of the dancer statue?"
Benisette nodded without lessening his glare or its direction.
"Why not show it to Miss Lane?" queried Talcott. "I know she'd like to see
it."
Bringing an envelope from his inside pocket, Benisette drew a picture from
it. Receiving the photograph, Margo was duly impressed. The statue indeed was
very lovely.
From its colors, the statue was composed entirely of ivory and jade. It
represented a Siamese dancing girl, seated with crossed legs, her arms folded in
front of her with hands stretched straight against her shoulders. The ivory, an
old yellow, formed the girl, while the jade, more precious and therefore
sparingly used, composed her garments.
Jade girdle, anklets and bracelets formed the costume, while the realism of
the figure was obtained by black ivory, probably a vegetable variety, that
represented the dancer's hair and eyes. Indeed, if Margo had been shown the
picture without knowing what it was, she would have supposed that it was a
photograph of a living model.
"How lovely!" exclaimed Margo. "Why from the tint of that old ivory, it
must have been aged for years!"
"And so will I be," snapped Benisette, taking back the photograph, "if
