He opened the door, and found the room furnished in the style of a private banking-office.
"Is Mr. Sharp or Mr. Ketchum in?" he inquired of a sharp-faced young clerk, the son, as it turned out, of the senior partner.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Sharp is in."
"Is he at leisure? I wish to see him on business."
"Go in there, sir," said the clerk, pointing to a small private room in the corner of the office. Following the directions, Mr. Duncan found himself in the presence of a man of about fifty, with a hatchet face, much puckered with wrinkles, and a very foxy expression.
"I am Mr. Sharp," he said, in answer to an inquiry.
Prince Duncan unfolded his business. He wished to borrow eight or nine thousand dollars on ten thousand dollars' worth of United States Government bonds.
"Why don't you sell at once?" asked Sharp keenly.
"Because I wish, for special reasons, to redeem these identical bonds, say six months hence."
"They are your own?" asked Mr. Sharp.