"What!" said the opulent John Fenn, "I came especially to get it."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fenn," returned the proprietor, "Mr. Hooker, here, has just said that he would take it."
"Now, look here, Rodd, I've always been a good customer of yours. I've spent thousands in this very shop during the last few years. I'll give you two hundred dollars for it."
"No," said Rodd.
"Three hundred!" said Fenn.
"No."
"Four hundred!"
"No."
"I'll give you five hundred dollars for it, and if you do not take it, I shall never enter this place again!"
Without another word Rodd nodded, and Fenn quickly grasped the little book, and placed it in the inside pocket of his coat. Hooker became angry and threatened to take it by bodily force. A scuffle ensued. Two clerks came to the rescue, and Fenn departed triumphantly with the secrets of the noble families of Great Britain securely in his possession.