'It's Foucault, sir,' Parratt heard
him say. 'He's hanged hisself from the cat-head.'
"As soon as he was off duty, Parratt made his way to his dead comrade's
chest, and, opening it with his pick-lock, took out the pearl. It was
now his sole property, and, as the ship was within an hour or two of her
destination, he thought he had little to fear from its murdered owner.
As soon as the vessel was alongside the wharf, he would slip ashore and
get rid of the jewel, even if he sold it at a comparatively low price.
The thing looked perfectly simple.
"In actual practice, however, it turned out quite otherwise. He began
by accosting a well-dressed stranger and offering the pendant for fifty
pounds; but the only reply that he got was a knowing smile and a shake
of the head. When this experience had been repeated a dozen times or
more, and he had been followed up and down the streets for nearly an
hour by a suspicious gendarme, he began to grow anxious. He visited
quite a number of ships and yachts in the harbour, and at each refusal
the price of his treasure came down, until he was eager to sell it for a
few francs.
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