"I cannot take gold from you," I cried.
"Do not be foolish, Joe. We are old friends, you and I, and this by rights is as much yours as mine."
He thrust the belt into my hands. "It is all for you, but there is enough for our good friend Abe, in case he parts from you before reaching Topham."
"But you—"
"I have more. I am not, Joe, only that which I have pretended to be in your uncle's store in Topham, where you and I have had happy days together."
At my bewildered face, he smiled again.
"My real name, Joe, is old and not obscure. I am one of the least illustrious sons of my house; but I myself have served on the staff of the great Bonaparte.
"And that—" I could scarcely believe that honest Arnold Lamont was saying these astounding things.
"That is why it has been necessary—at least advisable—for me to conceal for so many years my identity. A man, Joe, does not tell all he knows."