The pearly beach. And the pearls. Blurted out the broker.

" And the pearls? " blurted out the broker.

" The pearls, " said Jorkens, and a sad smile shone for a moment.

" Men found unconscious at night in the streets of Port Said never have pearls on them."

Jorkens remained shaking his head for a long time. " I suppose not, " said someone to break the silence and bring him back to his tale.

" No, " said Jorkens.

And after a while, in a voice that seemed low with mourning for his few weeks of fabulous wealth, Jorkens gave us what was left of his tale.

" I never saw Bill or the Portugee again. Living or dead I never found trace of them. T took the policeman back to the house of the Greek, and was easily able to identify it. The downstairs room was the same as ever and I identified the man who ran it, as soon as we were able to wake him up and get him to come out of bed. What I couldn't do was to find the upstairs room, or even the staircase that led to it. As far as I could see we went all over the house, and I could neither say what had happened nor where it had happened, while the Greek was swearing by all kinds of things, that to him and the policeman were holy, that nothing had happened at all. How they had made the change 1 was never able to see. So I just withdrew my charges, and gave the policeman baksheesh¹*, and got back to the ship, and never saw any of my pearls again, except one that got lost in the lining, or ever saw trace of the upstairs Greek. I got that one pearl in the lining fitted onto my tiepin. Carrappas or Carrapaccas I could not find on any map, and no one I questioned in twenty seaports had ever heard of it either; so that one pearl in my tiepin was all I got out of the kindly advice of the drunken man by the wall."

" But the latitude and the longitude, " said Terbut, with the quiet air of one playing a mate¹⁹.

" You see, that" said Jorkens, " was what I couldn't remember."

Notes:

1. the twopeny stamp on checks — in England all checks (usually spelt: cheques) must have a revenue stamp on them

2. Jaffirs at 62 — stock at the price of £ 62 for one £ 100 share

3. Pearls to be had for the gathering — one can have as many pearls as one can gather.

4. have a drop too much — take too much wine

5. Aden [eidn] — a seaport on the southwest tip of Saudi Arabia

6. Portugee (irregular) — Portuguese

THE PEARLY BEACH

7. half-wit (■ = half-witted) — weak-minded

8. to be in it — to be in the secret

9. the old proverb — the proverb is: " In vino veritas" (Latin) — " In wine is truth".

10. set about doing smth — start doing smth

11. Well, there you are — a phrase, often used in atone of triumph to show that the speaker was right (Russ.: Вот видишь!)

12. go to pieces — go to ruin

13. Port Said [po-t 'said] — a seaport in the north-east of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea

14. to go pretty slow on drinks — to be careful not to take much alcoholic drink

15. not the kind that you would count on meeting — not the sort of person that you would expect to meet

16. Got the stuff? {slang) — Have you got the money?

17. indeed — shows surprise, irony (Russ.: Как бы не так.)

18. baksheesh [bsek'jij] — a tip in the Near East

19. the quiet air of one playing a mate — the quiet air of a person who knows he is dealing a crushing blow to his opponent; " to play a mate" — to win a game of chess.

I. VOCABULARY

matter (v) (chiefly in interrogative, negative and conditional sentences) be of importance

□ It hardly matters at all.

pretty (adv) {here) fairly, moderately

D The situation seems pretty hopeless.

□ We have pretty well (= very nearly) finished the work.

point (n) 1. (here) chief idea of smth said, done or planned П miss (see) the point of a joke

□ I don't see your point (= don't see what you are trying to make clear).

2. any small dot or mark on a surface П a full point (= a full stop)

□ a decimal point

3. sharp end (of a pin, pencil, etc.)

4. a detail, question, item

□ Points on which we agreed.

5. purpose; use

150 / THE PEARLY BEACH

□ There's no point (not much point) in doing that. a point of view an opinion

□ I'd like to hear your point of view about it.

be on the point of (doing smth) be about to do smth

П I was on the point of leaving when the telephone rang. come to the point pass over to the main topic

П I wish he would come to the point, keep (stick or be) to the point to speak directly referring to the subject

□ Your answer is not to the point.

□ Will you keep to the point, please?

point (v) 1. (to/at) direct attention to; show the position or direction of; be a sign of Я The needle of a compass points to theNorth.

□ The girl pointed her finger at the dog.

□ All the evidence points to his guilt. 2. (out) show; call or direct attention to

□ point out a mistake

□ Can you point (me) out the man you suspect? Q I must point out that delay is unwise.

hock (AmE, slang) = pawn (BrE) (v) deposit (clothing, jewellery, etc.) as a pledge for money borrowed D The medical student pawned his microscope to pay his rent.

rather (adv) 1. to some extent; somewhat

О 1 feel rather tired at the end of the long climb.

2. sooner, more willingly, preferably

□ He likes coffee rather than tea at breakfast.

It is used in the verbal phrase " would rather '" to express preference, choice or desire, and can introduce a comparative idea

□ Which would you rather have, tea or coffee?

3. to a greater extent, more truly, more accurately

□ It can be explained by his carelessness rather than by lack of knowledge.

4. {colloquial) (in answers) most certainly, yes П Would you like to come? Rather!

way (n) 1. method or plan, course of action

□ This is the wrong way to do it (of doing it).

□ The work must be finished in one way or another.

2. road, street, part or passage О There is no way through.

О I'll buy some bread on my way home.

3. route or road used between two places or to a place; direction

□ Our compass helped us not to lose our way.

□ Look this way, please.