“Nor would I be if I were you,” he replied.
She shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly.
“Why fence?” she asked.
“Why, indeed?” he replied.
“And why, may I ask, did you meet me here this afternoon?”
“Curiosity—later, satisfaction and appreciation.”
“And why do you think I wanted to meet you?”
“Heaven knows!” he replied.
“Suppose, Mr. Harleston, we resume the conversation just where we left off last night. Your last remark then was that I had a chance to get the articles, but no one else had a chance. I’m here now for my chance.”
“And that chance depends on a number of contingencies,” he replied: “whether I have the desired articles; whether you have the title to them, or the right of possession to them; whether they concern private matters or public matters; if the latter, whether the United States is concerned.”