“That’s more in your line, my lad.  Tak’ my advice and join the pilots.  Ye’ll do better as a pilot than anything else.  It’s in your blood.  As for the Falcon, I said when you came aboard us that you could easily leave if you chanced upon something better.  We can soon get another lad to fill your berth.  Maybe ye ken a lad yersel’ that would come aboard us?”

“Ay, that I do,” I responded.  “There’s Robbie Rosson, he’d be glad of the chance.”

“Bring him to me then, Halcro, and we’ll take him along with us next trip to see if he likes it.”

Here was a fortunate opportunity.  By my own advancement I was to be the means of helping my two school companions.  Willie Hercus was to join the revenue cutter; Robbie Rosson was to go aboard the Falcon.  As for myself, I may say that it was a foregone conclusion with me that I should take to the piloting.

“Has Paterson got a boat yet, Halcro?” asked the skipper.

“No, that is his one difficulty.  He wants the money.  I wish I could only get some money from somewhere.”

Captain Flett lapsed into silence, as though, acting in his customary fashion, he was contriving in his mind how best to secure a pilot boat for Jack Paterson.  Presently the old Jew edged nearer to us and said to me: 

“Did I hear you say you vant money, mine young friend?”

“That’s a thing a good many folk want,” said I.  “Why?”

“Vy?  Oh, just because I tink you have got someting vort a great lot of money.  Dot little black stone you showed me; long time ago, you know.”

Here Captain Flett interposed, speaking with Isaac in Dutch.  A long conversation followed in that language, during which Flett asked me for my viking’s stone.  The old Jew took the talisman in his long fingers.  He regarded it as though he were familiar with its structure, twisting it round and screwing the thin band of gold that encircled it.  Then a very wonderful thing happened.  He gave the stone a few taps upon the table and the metal ring fell off.  The stone dropped open in two pieces like a shell, and in the heart of it appeared a bright clear gem that sparkled in the light of the oil lamp hanging above us.  I looked on in dumb amazement.

This stone, Jarl Haffling’s talisman, that I had carried about with me so long, fondly believing that it had the power to protect me from all perils, was it no talisman after all?  I doubted it now.  Whatever dangers I had gone through had been surmounted by no aid from this supposed amulet, but simply by my own endeavours.  But useless as it no doubt was in this particular, I could well imagine that the bright diamond which had been so cunningly enclosed within its hard stony shell might be of considerable value.

That it was of great value I soon discovered from what the old Hebrew informed me.  He took from his inner pocket a tiny pair of scales, and proceeded to weigh the glittering jewel in the balance.  Then he made some calculations on a dirty piece of paper, speaking as he did so in Dutch with Captain Flett.