"
A drive of an hour brought us to the picture-dealer's establish-
ment. He was a small, stout man with a red face and a peppery
manner.
"Yes, sir. On my very counter, sir," said he. "What we pay
rates and taxes for I don't know, when any ruffian can come in
and break one's goods. Yes, sir, it was I who sold Dr. Barnicot
his two statues. Disgraceful, sir! A Nihilist plot -- that's what I
make it. No one but an anarchist would go about breaking
statues. Red republicans -- that's what I call 'em. Who did I get
the statues from? I don't see what that has to do with it. Welll, if
you really want to know, I got them from Gelder & Co., in
Church Street, Stepney. They are a well-known house in the
trade, and have been this twenty years. How many had l?
Three -- two and one are three -- two of Dr. Barnicot's, and one
smashed in broad daylight on my own counter. Do I know that
photograph? No, I don't. Yes, I do, though. Why, it's Beppo.
He was a kind of Italian piece-work man, who made himself
useful in the shop. He could carve a bit, and gild and frame, and
do odd jobs.
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