Shard got off the carriage at the pawnshop entrance and walked in; in the usually quiet pawnshop, there was no one inside, not even Old John. Only the bronze censer on the counter was emitting bizarre-scented steam.
The pawnshop was still the same. It looked like a garbage heap in a landfill, but upon careful examination, every item in the shop had value. The east wall was covered with all kinds of clocks, and the display cabinet held boxed metal harmonicas and dancing music boxes.
The old-style steam engine that Shard saw on his first visit, one that could be placed in a museum, was still in the corner. However, the brass mechanical bird on the shelf, which transformed through gear mechanisms, caught his interest. He remembered Miss Galina had something similar in her study.
After he rang the bell on the counter, the old man wearing an apron came in through the back door:
