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“Imakemyinterestsyours，andyoumakeyourinterestsmine。
Isn’tthatso，Pugh？“
“Tress，what——whatwasinthebox？“
“Iwillbefrankwithyou，Pugh。Iftherehadbeensomethinginthebox，wouldyouhavebeenwillingtogohalveswithmeinmydiscovery？“
“Gohalves！Inyourdiscovery，Tress！Givemewhatismine！“
“Withpleasure，Pugh，ifyouwilltellmewhatisyours。“
“If——ifyoudon’tgivemewhatwasintheboxI’ll——I’llsendforthepolice。“
“Do！ThenIshallbeabletohandtothemwhatwasintheboxinorderthatitmayberestoredtoitsproperowner。“
“Itsproperowner！I’mitsproperowner！“
“Excuseme，butIdon’tunderstandhowthatcanbe；atleast，untilthepolicehavemadeinquiries。Ishouldsaythattheproperownerwasthepersonfromwhomyoupurchasedthebox，or，moreprobably，thepersonfromwhomhepurchasedit，andbywhom，doubtless，itwassoldinignorance，orbymistake。Thus，Pugh，ifyouwillonlysendforthepolice，weshallearnthegratitudeofapersonofwhomweneverheardinourlives——Ifordiscoveringthecontentsofthebox，andyouforreturningthem。“
AsIsaidthis，Pugh’sfacewasastudy。Hegaspedforbreath。Heactuallytookouthishandkerchieftowipehisbrow。
“Tress，I——Idon’tthinkyouneedtouseatonelikethattome。
Itisn’tfriendly。What——whatwasinthebox？“
“Letusunderstandeachother，Pugh。Ifyoudon’thandoverwhatwasintheboxtothepolice，Igohalves。“
Pughbegantodanceaboutthefloor。
“WhatafoolIwastotrustyouwiththebox！IknewIcouldn’ttrustyou。“Isaidnothing。Iturnedandrangthebell。“What’sthatfor？“
“That，mydearPugh，isforbreakfast，and，ifyoudesireit，forthepolice。Youknow，althoughyouhavebreakfasted，Ihaven’t。
PerhapswhileIambreakingmyfast，youwouldliketosummontherepresentativesoflawandorder。“Bobcamein。Iorderedbreakfast。ThenIturnedtoPugh。“Isthereanythingyouwouldlike？“
“No，I——I’vebreakfasted。“
“Itwasn’tofbreakfastIwasthinking。Itwasof——somethingelse。
Bobisatyourservice，if，forinstance，youwishtosendhimonanerrand。“
“No，Iwantnothing。Bobcango。“Bobwent。Directlyhewasgone，Pughturnedtome。“Youshallhavehalf。Whatwasinthebox？“
“Ishallhavehalf？“
“Youshall！“
“Idon’tthinkitisnecessarythatthetermsofourlittleunderstandingshouldbeexpresslyembodiedinblackandwhite。I
fancythat，underthecircumstance，Icantrustyou，Pugh。I
believethatIamcapableofseeingthat，inthismatter，youdon’tdome。Thatwasinthebox。“
Iheldoutthecrystalbetweenmyfingerandthumb。
“Whatisit？“
“ThatiswhatIdesiretolearn。“
“Letmelookatit。“
“Youarewelcometolookatitwhereitis。Lookatitaslongasyoulike，andasclosely。“
Pughleanedovermyhand。Hiseyesbegantogleam。Heishimselfnotabadjudgeofpreciousstones，isPugh。
“It’s——it’s——Tress！——isitadiamond？“
“ThatquestionIhavealreadyaskedmyself。“
“Letmelookatit！Itwillbesafewithme！It’smine！“
Iimmediatelyputthethingbehindmyback。
“Pardonme，itbelongsneithertoyounortome。Itbelongs，inallprobability，tothepersonwhosoldthatpuzzletothemanfromwhomyouboughtit——perhapssomeweepingwidow，Pugh，orhopelessorphan——thinkofit。Letushavenofurthermisunderstandinguponthatpoint，mydearoldfriend。Still，becauseyouaremydearoldfriend，Iamwillingtotrustyouwiththisdiscoveryofmine，onconditionthatyoudon’tattempttoremoveitfrommysight，andthatyoureturnittomethemomentIrequireyou。“
“You’re——you’reveryhardonme。“Imadeamovementtowardmywaistcoatpocket。“I’llreturnittoyou！“
Ihandedhimthecrystal，andwithitIhandedhimmyp
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