Explore "The Case of the Black Twenty-Two" by Brian Flynn on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces. From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl. Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity. In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them-none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years' concealment. Every one was a truly magnificent specimen. Goodall, Peter and Charles Stewart handled them in a kind of amazed bewilderment, marveling at their size and beauty. Michael O'Connor's two eyes were nearly falling from his head. This would make a story for many future generations of O'Connors to smack their lips over. After a time the reason of the other three reasserted itself, and they turned to Bathurst-their questions in their eyes.
"Hadn't you better tell us all about it, Mr. Bathurst," suggested the Inspector, "it's the nearest approach to the Arabian Nights that ever I've run up against."