'I checked the dates in the old files of the newspaper. I found out that the disappearance of the pearl happened exactly two days before Beppo was arrested for some crime of violence. And this happened in the factory of Gelder & Co., at the very moment when these busts were being made. Now you clearly see the sequence of events, though of course when I started the case, I saw the last things first. Beppo had the pearl in his possession. He may have stolen it from Pietro, he may have been Pietro's accomplice, he may have been the go-between of Pietro and his sister. It is of no consequence to us which answer is the correct one.
The important thing is that Beppo had the pearl. And at the time he had it with him, he was being chased by the police. He made for the factory where he worked. He knew that he had only a few minutes in which to conceal his enormously valuable prize. Otherwise the police would find it on him when he was searched. Six plaster casts of Napoleon were drying in the passage. One of them was still soft. In an instant Beppo, who was a skilful workman, made a small hole in the wet plaster, dropped in the pearl, and with a few touches covered over the hole he had made. It was an admirable hiding-place. No one could possibly find it. But Beppo was condemned to a year's imprisonment, and meanwhile his six busts were scattered over London. He could not tell which contained his treasure.
He could only see by breaking them. Even shaking would tell him nothing, because the plaster was wet so the pearl would probably stick to it - as, in fact, it has done. Beppo did not despair, and he carried on searching with cleverness and persistence.
Vocabulary:
Violence: with force and pain
Sequence: the way things happened
Accomplice: someone you work with
Go-between: someone who carries messages
Of no consequence: not important
Made for: went towards
Conceal: hide
Admirable: very good
Condemned: punished by the law
Persistence: to keep trying
Please go on - press the blue button.
