The cylinder of one 1851 Navy bore
serial numbers that looked as though they had been altered to conform to
the numbers on other parts of the weapon. Many of the Colts, however,
were entirely correct, and all were in reasonably good condition.
Rand saw something that interested him, and picked it up.
"That isn't a real Colt," the exquisite Mr. Gillis told him. "It's a
Confederate copy; a Leech & Rigdon."
"So I see. I have a Griswold & Grier, but no Leech & Rigdon."
"The Griswold & Grier; that's the one with the brass frame," Cecil Gillis
said. "Surprising how many collectors think all Confederate revolvers
had brass frames, because of the Griswold & Grier, and the Spiller &
Burr.... That's an unusually fine specimen, Mr. Rand. Mr. Rivers got
it sometime in late December or early January; from a gentleman in
Charleston, I understand. I believe it had been carried during the Civil
War by a member of the former owner's family."
Rand looked at the tag tied to the trigger-guard; it was marked, in
letter-code, with three different prices. That was characteristic of
Arnold Rivers's business methods.
"How much does Mr. Rivers want for this?" he asked, handing the revolver
to young Gillis.
The clerk mentally decoded the three prices and vacillated for a moment
over them.
Pages:
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65