“Did he threaten you, or use any compulsion?” inquired his father.
“Yes, sir; he threatened us after we had promised not to say anything about it.”
“Well, that will hardly excuse you for making such a promise. I think you yielded too willingly. You can hardly say that he compelled you to promise secrecy. But, suppose he did compel you, what then?”
“I suppose it would not have been binding on us.”
“Why not?”
“Because he forced us into it.”
“Then, when the barons of England compelled King John to sign the Magna Charta, which secured to Englishmen their liberties, the act was not binding upon him, because he was forced into it; was it so?”
Clinton made no reply.
“If I should catch a boy stealing apples from my trees,” continued his father, “and should refuse to let him go until he had promised not to steal any more, he would be under no obligations to keep his promise, would he?”
“Yes, sir, he would.”