ou the ring."

"I cannot do that."

"Very well. I'll only give you four hundred dollars reward."

"The ring is worth more than that."

"If you retain it, or sell it, you become a thief."

"You have advertised eight hundred dollars reward and no questions
asked. I may have found it. Knowing of your loss through reading your
advertisement, I may have gone to great trouble to recover it. At any
rate, I have it. I deliver it. Your advertisement is in effect a
contract which I can call upon you to carry out. The ring is not mine,
but for my services in getting it, I am entitled to the eight hundred
dollars you agree to give. You cannot give less."

"Do you think it right to take advantage of my necessity in this way?
You ought to accept less. The ring is not worth over seven hundred
dollars. For returning it, three hundred dollars ought to be enough.
It is wrong to drive a hard bargain by taking advantage of my
necessity."

"You have built your fortune on such principles. You have engineered
countless schemes and your dollars came from the straits you reduced
others to."

"But do you think it right? What I may have done, does not justify
you. I venture to say you and other young chaps have sat with heels
cocked up and pipes in mouth and discussed me and called me a villain
for doing what you are trying to do with me."

"I have indeed. But that was in the past and I have changed my views
materially. At present, I have the exclusive possession of the ability
to secure something you very much want. You offered eight hundred
dollars. Intrinsically, the ring is not worth it, but for certain
reasons, possession of the ring is worth eight hundred dollars."

"Possession of the ring! Certain reasons!" said Mr. Crecelius,
springing to his feet and pacing up and down the room angrily. As Mr.
Middleton was cudgelling his brains to find some reason for this
outburst of anger, he became cognizant of a small piece of folded
paper lying near his feet. He was about to pick it up and hand it to
the financier, when he was stayed by the reflection that it might have
dropped from his own pocket and examining it, read:

"It's his wife's ring. I wore it along with some of her other
things. Ten years ago, he gave it to another woman, and his wife
found it out and he had to buy it back. He is afraid his wife
will think he gave the ring away a second time. That is why I
dared give it to you. Make him give you a thous