"That Jew who works for the Tsar," said Daniel—not wishing to utter the name Solomon, for fear it would send Isaac into chiliastic transports—"has detected that the trial batch of plates were made of heavier-than-normal gold, and the decree has gone forth from the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg that all succeeding plates be made of the same stuff. If we disobey, punishment will ensue, in the Russian style. Were it not for this, I’d swop the gold without hesitation. For I believe it has no special properties whatsoever."