"The remedy is very simple," he said in a strange accent, a mixture of English and South American.

"And I really don't understand why it hasn't occurred to somebody." All turned to give him careful attention, even the Dominican.

The jeweler was a tall, meager, nervous man, very dark, dressed in the English fashion and wearing a pith helmet.

Remarkable about him was his long white hair contrasted with a sparse black beard, indicating a mestizo origin.

To avoid the glare of the sun he wore constantly a pair of enormous blue goggles, which completely hid his eyes and a portion of his cheeks, thus giving him the aspect of a blind or weak-sighted person.