“I want to speak a word with you, Mr. Lake.”
The young man shrugged his shoulders.
“You are mistaken in the person,” he said. “My name is not Lake.”
“Very likely not,” said Phil significantly, “but that's what you called yourself when we met on the train.”
“I repeat, boy, that you are strangely mistaken. My name is”—he paused slightly—“John Montgomery.”
“Just as you please. Whatever your name is, I have a little business with you.”
“I can't stop. My business is urgent,” said Lake.
“Then I will be brief. I lent you five dollars on a ring which I afterward discovered to be stolen. I want you to return that money.”
Mr. Lake looked about him apprehensively, for he did not wish any one to hear what Phil was saying.
“You must be crazy!” he said. “I never saw you before in the whole course of my life.”