Hyderabad, whose wealth, as you are no doubt aware, eclipses that of every monarch in the world, including Queen Victoria and the Russian emperor Alexander.'
'The greatness of our queen does not consist in the extent of her personal fortune, but in the prosperity of her subjects,' Clarissa remarked primly, stung by the professor's remark.
'Undoubtedly,' agreed Sweetchild, who was already in full spate and not to be halted. 'However, the wealth of the rajahs of Brahmapur was of a very special kind. They did not hoard gold, they did not stuff trunks to overflowing with silver, they did not build palaces of pink marble. No, for three hundred years these rulers knew only one passion - precious stones. Do you know what the Brahmapur Standard is?'
'Isn't it a style of faceting diamonds?' Dr Truffo asked uncertainly.
'The Brahmapur Standard is a jewellers' term which refers to a diamond, sapphire, ruby or emerald that is faceted in a particular manner and is the size of a walnut, which corresponds to one hundred and sixty tandools, in other words eighty carats in weight.'
'But that is a very large size,' Renier exclaimed in amazement. 'Stones as large as that are very rare. If my memory does not deceive me, even the Regent diamond, the glory of the French state jewels, is not very much larger.'
'No, Lieutenant, the Pitt diamond, also known as the Regent, is almost twice as large,' the professor corrected him with an air of authority, but eighty carats is still a considerable size, especially if one is dealing with stones of the first water. But can you believe, ladies and gentlemen, that Bagdasssar had five hundred and twelve such stones, and all of absolutely irreproachable quality!'
'That's impossible!' exclaimed Sir Reginald. Fandorin asked:
'Why exactly five hundred and t-twelve?'
'Because of the sacred number eight,' Sweetchild gladly explained. 'Five hundred and twelve is eight times eight times eight, that is eight to the power of three, or eight cubed, the so-called "ideal number". There is here, undoubtedly, some influence from Buddhism, in which the number eight is regarded with particular reverence. In the north-eastern part of India, where Brahmapur lies, religions are intertwined in the most bizarre fashion imaginable. But the most interesting thing of all is where this treasure was kept and how.'
'And where was it kept?' Renate Kleber inquired curiously.
'In a simple clay casket without any adornment whatever. In 1852 I visited Brahmapur as a young archaeologist and met the Rajah Bagdassar. An ancient temple had been discovered in the jungle on the territory of the principality, and the rajah invited me to assess the significance of the find. I carried out the necessary research, and what do you think I discovered? The temple turned out to have been built in the time of King Chandragupta, when . . .'
'Stop-stop-stop!' the commissioner interrupted. 'You can tell us about archaeology some other time. Let's get back to the rajah.'
'Ah yes indeed,' said the professor, fluttering his eyelashes. 'That really would be best. Well then, the rajah was pleased with me and as a token of his favour he showed me his legendary casket. Oh, I shall never forget that sight!' Sweetchild narrowed his eyes as he continued: 'Imagine a dark dungeon with only a single torch burning in a bronze bracket beside the door.
The rajah and I were alone, his retainers remained outside the massive door, which was protected by a dozen guards. I got no clear impression of the interior of this treasure house, for my eyes had no time to adjust to the semi-darkness. I only heard the clanging of locks as his Highness opened them. Then Bagdassar turned to me and in his hands I saw a cube that was the colour of earth and appeared to be very heavy. It was the size of . . .' Sweetchild opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone was sitting and listening with bated breath, and Renate Kleber had even parted her lips like a child. 'Oh, I don't know. I
'The greatness of our queen does not consist in the extent of her personal fortune, but in the prosperity of her subjects,' Clarissa remarked primly, stung by the professor's remark.
'Undoubtedly,' agreed Sweetchild, who was already in full spate and not to be halted. 'However, the wealth of the rajahs of Brahmapur was of a very special kind. They did not hoard gold, they did not stuff trunks to overflowing with silver, they did not build palaces of pink marble. No, for three hundred years these rulers knew only one passion - precious stones. Do you know what the Brahmapur Standard is?'
'Isn't it a style of faceting diamonds?' Dr Truffo asked uncertainly.
'The Brahmapur Standard is a jewellers' term which refers to a diamond, sapphire, ruby or emerald that is faceted in a particular manner and is the size of a walnut, which corresponds to one hundred and sixty tandools, in other words eighty carats in weight.'
'But that is a very large size,' Renier exclaimed in amazement. 'Stones as large as that are very rare. If my memory does not deceive me, even the Regent diamond, the glory of the French state jewels, is not very much larger.'
'No, Lieutenant, the Pitt diamond, also known as the Regent, is almost twice as large,' the professor corrected him with an air of authority, but eighty carats is still a considerable size, especially if one is dealing with stones of the first water. But can you believe, ladies and gentlemen, that Bagdasssar had five hundred and twelve such stones, and all of absolutely irreproachable quality!'
'That's impossible!' exclaimed Sir Reginald. Fandorin asked:
'Why exactly five hundred and t-twelve?'
'Because of the sacred number eight,' Sweetchild gladly explained. 'Five hundred and twelve is eight times eight times eight, that is eight to the power of three, or eight cubed, the so-called "ideal number". There is here, undoubtedly, some influence from Buddhism, in which the number eight is regarded with particular reverence. In the north-eastern part of India, where Brahmapur lies, religions are intertwined in the most bizarre fashion imaginable. But the most interesting thing of all is where this treasure was kept and how.'
'And where was it kept?' Renate Kleber inquired curiously.
'In a simple clay casket without any adornment whatever. In 1852 I visited Brahmapur as a young archaeologist and met the Rajah Bagdassar. An ancient temple had been discovered in the jungle on the territory of the principality, and the rajah invited me to assess the significance of the find. I carried out the necessary research, and what do you think I discovered? The temple turned out to have been built in the time of King Chandragupta, when . . .'
'Stop-stop-stop!' the commissioner interrupted. 'You can tell us about archaeology some other time. Let's get back to the rajah.'
'Ah yes indeed,' said the professor, fluttering his eyelashes. 'That really would be best. Well then, the rajah was pleased with me and as a token of his favour he showed me his legendary casket. Oh, I shall never forget that sight!' Sweetchild narrowed his eyes as he continued: 'Imagine a dark dungeon with only a single torch burning in a bronze bracket beside the door.
The rajah and I were alone, his retainers remained outside the massive door, which was protected by a dozen guards. I got no clear impression of the interior of this treasure house, for my eyes had no time to adjust to the semi-darkness. I only heard the clanging of locks as his Highness opened them. Then Bagdassar turned to me and in his hands I saw a cube that was the colour of earth and appeared to be very heavy. It was the size of . . .' Sweetchild opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone was sitting and listening with bated breath, and Renate Kleber had even parted her lips like a child. 'Oh, I don't know. I
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