"If they left the island the early part of April, they may come knocking on your door at any time."
"Providing they did not have to wait long in Auckland to find a stout ship that made a fast passage."
"My God, man, you're in an impossible situation."
"What you really mean is, how can a dying man carry out an old friend's dying wish?"
"You're not going to die," said Carlisle, looking Scaggs in the eye.
"Oh yes I am," Scaggs said firmly. "You're a practical businessman, Abner. Nobody knows that better than me. That's why I asked to see you before I take my final voyage."
"You want me to wet-nurse Betsy's children."
"They can live in my house until you drop their anchor in the best educational institutions money can buy."
"The pitiful amount that Betsy made selling hats and food supplies to visiting whaling ships won't come close to covering the cost of several years of boarding at expensive schools. They'll need the proper clothes and private tutors to bring them up to proper learning levels. I hope you're not asking me to provide for total strangers."
Scaggs pointed to the leather pouch.
Carlisle held it up. "Is this what Betsy sent you to educate her children?"
Scaggs nodded slightly. "Open it."
Carlisle loosened the strings and poured the contents into his hand. He looked up at Scaggs incredulously. "Is this some sort of joke? These are nothing but ordinary stones."
"Trust me, Abner. They are not ordinary."
Carlisle held up one about the size of a prune in front of his spectacles and peered at it. The surface of the stone was smooth and its shape was octahedral, having eight sides. "This is nothing but some sort of crystal. It's absolutely worthless."
"Take the stones to Levi Strouser."
"The Jewish gem merchant?"
"Show the stones to him."
"Precious gems, they're not," said Carlisle firmly.
"Please . . ." Scaggs barely got the word out. The long conversation had tired him.
"As you wish, old friend." He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at the time. "I'll call on Strouser first thing in the morning and return to you with his appraisal."
"Thank you," Scaggs murmured. "The rest will take care of itself."
Carlisle walked under an early morning drizzle to the old business district near Castlegate. He checked the address and turned up the steps to one of the many inconspicuous gray houses built of local granite that gave the city of Aberdeen a solid if drab appearance. Small brass letters mounted beside the door read, simply, Strouser & Sons. He pulled the bell knob and was shown into a Spartan furnished office by a clerk, offered a chair and a cup of tea.
A slow minute passed before a short man in a long frock coat, a salt-and-pepper beard down to his chest, entered through a side door. He smiled politely and extended his hand.
"I am Levi Strouser. What service can I perform for you?"
"My name is Abner Carlisle. I was sent by my friend Captain Charles Scaggs."
"Captain Scaggs sent a messenger who announced your coming. I am honored to have Aberdeen's most renowned merchant in my humble office."
"Have we ever met?"
"We don't exactly travel in the same social circles, and you are not the kind of man who buys jewelry."
"My wife died young and I never remarried. So there was no reason to purchase expensive baubles."