“Indeed I do, but you spoke of seditious papers, and I have none of that sort.”
“You deny it then?”
“Certainly I do.”
The magistrate turned round and took a rapid survey of the whole cabinet.
“Where is the apartment you call your dry-room?” he asked.
“The very same where you now are, Master van Spennen.”
The magistrate cast a glance at a small note at the top of his papers.
“All right,” he said, like a man who is sure of his ground.
Then, turning round towards Cornelius, he continued, “Will you give up those papers to me?”
“But I cannot, Master van Spennen; those papers do not belong to me; they have been deposited with me as a trust, and a trust is sacred.”