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Main > Fairy tale > All authors > Frank Baum > Fairy tale "Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West "

Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West

You have

scarcely done justice to his character in your description, sir. To us he

appears diffident, retiring, and rather weak, in a way, while in his

intercourse with Goldstein he shows a mailed fist. He can be hard as

nails, on occasion, as we know, and at times he displays a surprising

knowledge of the world and its ways--for one who has been brought up on

an out-of-the-way island. What do we know about him, anyway? He tells a

tale no one can disprove, for the South Seas are full of small islands,

some of which are probably unrecorded on the charts. All this might

possibly be explained by remembering that a man like Jack Andrews is

undoubtedly a clever actor."

"Exactly!" said a jubilant voice behind them, and Mr. Isidore Le Drieux

stepped forward and calmly drew up a chair, in which he seated himself.

"You will pardon me, gentlemen, for eavesdropping, but I was curious to

know what you thought of this remarkable young man who calls himself

'A. Jones.'"

Arthur faced the intruder with a frown. He objected to being startled in

this manner. "You are a detective?" he asked.

"Oh, scarcely that, sir," Le Drieux replied in a deprecating way. "My

printed card indicates that I am a merchant, but in truth I am a special

agent, employed by the largest pearl and gem dealers in the world, a firm

with branches in every large European and American city. My name is Le

Drieux, sir, at your service," and with a flourish he presented his card.

The young rancher preferred to study the man's face.

"I am a sort of messenger," he continued, placidly. "When valuable

consignments of jewels are to be delivered, I am the carrier instead of

the express companies. The method is safer. In twenty-six years of this

work I have never lost a single jewel."

"One firm employs you exclusively, then?"

"One firm. But it has many branches."

"It is a trust?"

"Oh, no; we have many competitors; but none very important. Our closest

rival, for instance, has headquarters on this very coast--in San

Francisco--but spreads, as we do, over the civilized world.

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