“Name conditions, and I will not accept it—not if you ask me on your knees. Ha, ha, ha!”
“I shall make none, then: if you will accept it, it is yours.”
“Ah, that is not all, Master Arens. You might take it back just as easily as you have given it. How am I to be sure that you would not? I must have the deeds.”
“You shall have them.”
“And when?”
“Whenever you please—within the hour, if you desire it.”
“I do, then. Go, get them! But remember, sir, I make no conditions—remember that?”
“Oh,” exclaimed the overjoyed lover, “I make none. I have no fears: I leave all to you. In an hour, you shall have them. Adieu!”
And so saying, he made a hurried departure.
I was so astonished by the nature of this dialogue—so taken by surprise at its odd ending—that for a time I could not stir from the spot. Not until Ringgold had proceeded to some distance did I recover self-possession; and then I hesitated what course to pursue—whether to follow him, or permit him to depart unmolested.