"Yes, blue, and a good color, but not so beautiful nor so rare, as this shade of green. This is a wonder." And as he spoke he turned the stone in every light. "It's a marvelous thing. Marvelous! Almost unbelievable!" "Can you tell me," said Cyrus, "about how much it is worth?" Mr. Bressani shrugged his shoulders: "Anything." "You mean," said the Senior Partner, "it would be impossible to guess, even approximately, at its value?" "Yes. For you know the value of diamonds is speculative--depending on many conditions; size, shape, purity, color--and how they cut. The Victoria--one hundred and eighty carats--was sold for four hundred thousand pounds. But diamonds were rarer then. This, when properly cut into the right number of stones, would bring more than three million dollars." William, in his enthusiasm, slapped his friend on the back. "Well, old man, you have struck it rich this time." The calm-eyed Cyrus smiled and nodded. "Then this diamond of mine," he said, "would be ten times bigger than the Koh-i-noor or any of those other stones?" "Yes, sir." "Isn't there a famous Sancy diamond?" "Oh, yes. But that weighed only fifty-three carats. The Sancy diamond was famous more from its unusual history than from its size." "What was its history, Bressani?" said the Senior Partner. "I never heard it." "Well, it belonged to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who was wearing it in his hat at the battle of Nancy, the day he was killed. A Swiss soldier found it and sold it to a clergyman for a gulden; about forty cents. Then it came into possession of Anton, King of Portugal, who sold it for 100,000 Francs. Soon afterwards it became the property of a French gentleman named Sancy. A descendant of this Sancy was sent by Henry III as ambassador to Soluere and the King required the diamond as a pledge. The servant who was carrying it to the King was attacked by robbers and murdered, but before dying he swallowed the diamond. His master, knowing his devotion, had the body opened and found the diamond in his stomach." "And where is it now?" asked Cyrus. "It was bought by a Russian nobleman in 1835, for half a million rubles; about four hundred thousand dollars." "Jove!" exclaimed William. "Some difference in price between forty cents and four hundred thousand dollars!" "And how much bigger," asked William, "is this than the Sancy?" "That weighed fifty-three carats. This, when cut, would weigh about three thousand." "Jove! Sixty times as much! Would it be worth sixty times four hundred thousand dollars? That would be about twenty-four million dollars." Mr. Bressani smiled and shook his head. "Times were different then--and to-day there are more diamonds." "I suppose many of the famous jewels," said William, "if they could speak, might tell us stories as surprising as the Sancy's." Then Cyrus Alton, in a low voice, addressing nobody in particular, said: "It would be worth the price of this diamond to know its history."