Owen Oliver

“ The old man turned on me savagely.
"Business is rough," he said, "and you're a fool. Shut up!"
So I shut up, and he turned to the professor.
"What are your terms?" he asked.
The professor waved his hand at Elizabeth.
"Miss Smith is the business manager of the firm," he stated, and the old man turned to her.
"Well, Elizabeth?" he asked; and she considered, touching her lip with her finger.
"Well, dad," she said, "the professor isn't a business man. He doesn't care about flooding the market and ruining trade. That's why he hasn't done it before. You can square him if you can square me." ”

“ Thousands and thousands!"
"Then," said old Smith, "you can corner the market in rose diamonds. Make a few and you'll do very well. Make too many and you'll ruin the market. It doesn't matter to me. I deal in brilliants."
"I can make brilliants," said the professor, with a tremendous chuckle.
"Make them," said old Smith curtly. "It's no use talking."
Elizabeth and the professor set the apparatus going again, and we waited another quarter of an hour, while the professor tried to explain his formula to old Smith, and old Smith tried to explain the diamond market to the professor. ”

“ Hulder was the old man's great rival, and he hated him like poison, as Elizabeth knew. He tried to put her off going to him, but she wouldn't be put off; and finally he agreed to witness the experiments. He came to the professor's laboratory one afternoon, and brought a couple of his experts. They were very supercilious at first; but they changed their tone when the professor set his apparatus to work, and produced some tiny little diamonds like pins' heads.
"They're diamonds right enough," one of them owned; "but they're no use for an3rthing but setting in cheap rings. ”