"After that he made his way through Mandalay to Rangoon, and shipped on board the steamer _Jemadar_ for London." "When did the _Jemadar_ reach London ?" "On the twenty-third of June," he answered.

"We have made inquiries upon that point." I made a note of this and then continued my inquiries.
"One other question," I said.

"While we are on the subject, what do you suppose would be the total value of the treasure of which he robbed you ?" "That is very difficult to say," Kitwater replied, and then turned to his companion and held out his hand.

The other took it and tapped upon the palm with the tips of his fingers in a sort of dot-and-telegraph fashion that I had never seen used before.
"My friend says that there were ninety-three stones, all rubies and sapphires; they were of exquisite lustre and extraordinary size.
Possibly they might have been worth anything from a hundred and seventy thousand pounds to a quarter of a million." I opened my eyes on hearing this.

Were the men telling me the truth?
I asked myself, or were they trying to interest me in the case by exaggerating the value of the treasure?
"What you say is almost incomprehensible," I continued.