"The necklace," the boy gasped, "the necklace?"
"H'm?"
"Where did you get that sapphire and diamond necklace that you sold to M. Strozzi yesterday?"
"That, my young friend, is entirely my affair."
"Look here, Mosson, somebody, some friend of mine, yesterday, wiped off what I owed you to the last penny."
"Quite so. An unknown friend—on conditions. Now that is done. Good morning. Au revoir, I must not say."
"That friend was the owner of the necklace."
"If you say so, I must believe it."
"You can't deny that she was. Besides, there can't be a duplicate—that's beyond a coincidence."
"If Monsieur is so well informed on a subject that I confess has little interest for me, why waste valuable time in vain interrogations? For the rest, with regard to the debt and conditions, the transaction was confidential, the person who negotiated it having ensured my silence upon the matter. So once more, M. Paul, I wish you good day, and better luck at the game of life than you have had of late at roulette."