“Which translation?”

Morgan had stopped too high and he had to lean forward to see into the showroom. He bumped down one step, and all his pale face and red hair floated into view. “Alexander Pope.”

“A 1725 Pope first edition?” Charles snorted. “I doubt it!”

“The listing says first edition. And it says it’s signed by the author.”

“The translator, you mean.”

“It says the author.”

Charles paused. “The Odyssey, signed by the author. That would certainly answer the question of whether it was written or oral. I suppose I should come and see.”

“Do you think it could be anything you’d want?”

Charles squinted at the picture on Morgan’s computer. “Not much of a picture.”

“It’s not a dealer,” Morgan said. “Just an individual.”

“Send an email. I want to know the usual-the publisher and city, number of pages, and the date. And I want a picture of the title page, and see if he’ll tell us where he got it.”

“How much would it be worth?”

“A 1725 Pope first edition? Even in poor condition, at least thirty thousand. But that’s nothing like a first edition. I’d say it was nineteenth century. How long is the auction?”

“One week. It just started this afternoon.”

“Keep an eye on it. We’ll see how high it goes. I might decide to bid once we hear back from the seller.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Morgan.”

Charles stopped at the door to his office.

“Was Jacob all right?” Dorothy asked.

“Yes. Just being sociable. Have you ever read Homer’s Odyssey?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember which translation?”

“No. It was in college.” She noticed the box in his hands. “And that is the books?”

“This is Derek’s books,” he said. “Yes. I’m taking them to the basement right now to work on them.” He looked at the box in his hand. “Or maybe I shouldn’t.”