Here it is."
He thrust his hand into his doublet, and produced the parchment in
question, delivering it to the lady, who, however, did not unfold it,
but kept her eyes fixed upon him.
"This distrust annoyed me; it should not have done so, for he was merely
acting in the cautious manner natural to a merchant. With a boyishness I
now regret, I put my sword to his throat, demanding the money, which I
received. I took only half of it, for my mother had given me five
hundred thalers. Oh, no; I did not rob my friend Goebel, but merely
tried to teach him that lack of faith is a dangerous thing."
If the old man who listened could have exchanged confidences with the
young woman who listened, he would have learned they shared the same
thought, which was that the young Prince spoke so straight-forwardly
neither doubted him for a moment. The old man, it is true, felt that his
talk was rather reckless of consequences, but, on the other hand, this
in itself was complimentary, for, as he remembered, the Prince had been
cautious enough when catechized by the three Archbishops together.
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