The Launching of Roger Brook

matter to anyone else?'

'No,' said Roger. 'Not a soul in France knows of it other than yourself. I thought it unwise to noise it about that I was carrying upon me anything of such value.'

De Roubec nodded approvingly. 'I am relieved to hear it, and 'twas fortunate that in myself you chose an honest man to confide in. After all, you know little enough about me as it is, and great seaports such as tins abound in rogues who would not scruple to cut your throat for a handful of louis.'

'If one both drinks and fights with a man yet remains friends with him afterwards, one has fair reason to trust him,' Roger laughed. 'And I certainly trust you.'

The Chevalier bowed. 'I am sensible of it, and should be prodigious distressed if it were not so. Have you the jewels perchance upon you now, or did you deposit them yesterday with a banker?'

'No, at the moment I have them spread about in pockets all over my person, as together they make quite a bulky bundle.' May I have a sight of them?'

'Certainly, if you wish.'

As Roger began to produce the trinkets and lay them out on the table the Chevalier added: 'I ask only that I may get some idea as to their value, as it would be well if we fixed aj price in our own minds before offering them to a goldsmith; and, although you are doubtless aware of their worth, I may be able to assist you in assessing what they are likely to fetch in France.'

One by one he picked up the items of the collection and examined them through his quizzing glass then, as Roger began to stow them back in his pockets again, he asked: 'What price had you in mind?'

'Five hundred guineas,' said Roger, thinking it best not to show his ignorance by naming too small a sum.

De Roubec shook his head. 'They may be worth that in England, where everyone is very rich; but I doubt if you will get that for them in France. I am no expert in such trifles, but if they were mine I should be glad to accept three hundred and eighty louis for the lot. They are mostly old-fashioned pieces and of little value apart from their weight as gold.'

Roger was far from disappointed, as he had been quite prepared to let them go for two hundred and fifty if he could get no better offer; and he congratulated himself again on having consulted the Chevalier, as, by having done so, he felt that he had as good as made himself an additional hundred and thirty pounds.

'So be it,' he said, endeavouring to appear a little crestfallen, 'I'll take three-eighty for them, since you advise it.'

'Nay, we will ask four-fifty for them as our opening shot and only come down gradually. 'Tis all against a gentleman's inclination to quibble over money, but one needs must for one's own protection in a case like this; and by so doing we might screw the knave up to parting with four-hundred louis. But I have yet to tell you my disturbing thought.'

'What is it?' inquired Roger anxiously.

De Roubec hesitated a moment, then he said: 'You will not take offence, I trust, at anything I may say?'

'Nay, why should I do so if 'tis for my benefit.'

' Tis this, then. Your age is your own affair, but when I first set eyes on you last night I put you down as scarce seventeen. The fact that you handle your sword as well as a man makes no difference to the youthfulness of your appearance. Your account of how you came by these trinkets is fair enough, and 'twould not enter my head to cast doubt upon your word. Yet others, who have not had the happiness of your acquaintance, may not prove so credulous. For so young a man to be offering for sale ail these women's gewgaws would strike any goldsmith as strange, to say the least; and, God forbid that such a thing should occur, but he might even think that you had stolen them and are being hunted in England by the agents of the Minister of Police. 'Twill be obvious to him at a glance that the stuff is of English make and I gather that you know no one in Le Havre who could vouch for your honesty. Perhaps my forebodings are no more than moonshine, but I felt it my duty as your friend to warn you of what may befall. Since 'twould be monstrous unpleasant to find yourself clapped into prison on suspicion, for a month or more while inquiries were being made.'

Roger's face fell in earnest now. It had never occurred to him that he might be faced with the same difficulties in disposing of Georgina's jewels in France as he would have been in England. He had taken it for granted that a French goldsmith would be prepared to buy without asking questions; but now it seemed that in offering them for sale here he would be running a far greater risk than he would have in some county town at home. There, the worst that could have befallen him would have been to pass a night in the lock-up and be ignominiously returned to his irate parent next day, whereas here he might be held a prisoner for weeks on end before tedious official inquiries led to his identity being fully established and his family in England securing his release.

'I am much indebted to you,' he said in a rather small voice, 'I had not thought of that, and there is much in what you say.'

'Of course, if you care to risk it,' hazarded the Chevalier, 'I will accompany you to a goldsmith's with pleasure. But, willing as I am to help, I could not honestly say that I had independent knowledge as so how you came by these jewels, or swear to it that I had known you for more than a day; since if further inquiry were made I should soon be in a trouble myself for perjury.'

'Yes, I fully appreciate that,' said Roger thoughtfully, but a new idea had come to him and he went on with some diffidence: 'My father needs this money with some urgency, though, and I am most loath to return to England without it. Would you—would it be asking too much of you to sell the stuff for me? I give you my solemn word of honour that it was come by honestly, and is mine to dispose of as I think fit. You are a grown man and well known in Le Havre, so the goldsmith would never question your right to dispose of such goods.'

The Chevalier considered for a moment. 'Yes, it could be done that way,' he said slowly. 'Maitre Blasieur knows me well, and we have oft done far larger deals together.'

'Please!' Roger urged. 'Please help me in this and I'll be eternally grateful to you.'

De Roubec smiled at him. 'I believe you have a greater interest in this matter than you pretend?'

Roger coloured slightly. 'Well, as a fact, my father promised me a portion of the proceeds of the deal if I showed my capabilities by handling it with credit. 'Tis in a way a test, too, as to if he will or no henceforth regard me as an equal and allow me to manage his affairs While he is away at sea.'

'In that case I can scarce bring myself to disoblige you.'

'This is stupendous!' Roger laughed again, now once more confident of success. 'Let us lose no time but start at once and get the matter over.'

'A moment, I beg.' De Roubec raised his hand. ' 'Twill not appear to Maitre Blasieur that 'tis I who am the seller if the goods for sale are produced by you, one by one, out of your pockets. I fear you will have to trust me with them for a short time at the least.'

Roger's hesitation was barely perceptible. He was most strongly averse to parting with his treasure, and he had not known De Roubec long enough to place complete faith in him. Yet it seemed clear that he must accept this risk or offend the Chevalier and say goodbye to any hope of this deal on account of which he had been to such pains in getting to France.

'I fully appreciate that,' he agreed, wondering at the same time how he could manage to keep a safety line on his property. 'How would you suggest that we arrange the matter?'

'Any way that suits yourself,' replied the Chevalier casually. 'But to start with I am sure you will see the advantage of making the jewels up into one convenient packet, so that they can be handed to Maitre Blasieur without your hunting about your person as though you were seeking fleas in the coat of a dog.'

Seeing the sense of this Roger began to get out his collection again while De Roubec sought for something suitable in which to put it. On the lower shelf of a cupboard he came across a long, flat bon-bon box, and, finding it to be empty, threw it on the table with a muttered: 'This will serve.'

Having packed all the chains, brooches, bangles and rings into the box, Roger looked up at him and inquired: 'What now?'

'Why, put it in the big pocket of your coat, mon ami,' laughed the Chevalier, 'I have no desire to be responsible for your property for a moment longer than the occasion demands; and we will now go together to the goldsmith's.'

His last lingering doubts of the Chevalier's probity thus being dispelled, Roger got to his feet and, unlatching the door, they left the room.

Outside, the hot August sunshine glared upon the quay and as Roger walked along beside his companion his