"I will promise not to do that."
"Then I believe that Prince Duncan, president of the Groveton Bank, could tell you, if he chose, what has become of the box."
"Extraordinary!" ejaculated John Armstrong.
"I supposed you would be surprised—probably indignant, if you are a friend of Duncan—but, nevertheless, I adhere to my statement."
"You mistake the meaning of my exclamation. I spoke of it as extraordinary, because the same suspicion has entered my mind, though, I admit, without a special reason."
"I have a reason."
"May I inquire what it is?"
"I knew Prince Duncan when he was a young man, though he does not know me now. In fact, I may as well admit that I was then known by another name. He wronged me deeply at that time, being guilty of a crime which he successfully laid upon my shoulders. No one in Groveton—no one of his recent associates—knows the real nature of the man as well as I do."
"You prefer not to go into particulars?"
"Not at present."