"Matter enough! You have given me the wrong valise."
"Is it possible?"
"See here; this belongs to a party named Lawrence—Edmund Lawrence. Give me mine at once."
The clerk looked troubled.
"I am afraid I can't," he faltered apologetically. "I gave Mr. Lawrence your valise—you will observe that they are very much alike—and he carried it away two hours since."
Palmer felt ready to drop. To think that after all his careful planning everything should be jeopardized by a hotel clerk's error.
"Do you know what you have done?" he said, in a hollow voice. "My valise contained two thousand dollars' worth of securities."
"I am terribly sorry, Mr. Palmer, but I don't think you will suffer any loss. This Mr. Lawrence looks like a high-toned gentleman. You can see him within an hour. He went from here to the International Hotel on the American side of the Falls. I advise you to go over at once, take his bag with you, and exchange."