"
"Humph! This is getting interesting. The contents of the box were
government bonds, I have heard."
"I heard Squire Duncan say so."
"Were they coupon or registered?"
"What difference would that make, sir?"
"The first could be sold without trouble by the thief, while
the last could not be disposed of without a formal transfer from
the owner."
"Then it would not pay to steal them?"
"Just so. Luke, do you know, a strange idea has come into my head."
"What is it, sir?"
"I think Prince Duncan knows more about how those bonds were
spirited away than is suspected."
Luke was greatly surprised.
"You don't think he took them himself, do you?" he asked.
"That remains to be seen. It is a curious affair altogether. I may
have occasion to speak of it another time. Are you a good writer?"
"Fair, I believe, sir."
"I have recently come into possession of a business in a city in
Ohio, which I carry on through a paid agent. Among other things,
I have bought out the old accounts. I shall need to have a large
number of bills made out, covering a series of years, which I shall
then put into the hands of a collector and realize so far as I can.
This work, with a little instruction, I think you can do."
"I shall be very glad to do it, sir."
"You will be paid fairly for the labor."
"I don't need any pay, Mr. Reed. You have already paid me
handsomely."
"You refer to the clothing and the watch? Those are gifts.
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