“ ‘Name any sum,’ said the stranger, his hand trembling so violently with excitement, that he could scarcely hold the pen he seized as he spoke⁠—‘any sum, and it is yours. Don’t be afraid to name it, man. I shall not think it dear, if you gain my object.’

“The attorney named a large sum, at hazard, as the advance he should require to secure himself against the possibility of loss; but more with the view of ascertaining how far his client was really disposed to go, than with any idea that he would comply with the demand. The stranger wrote a cheque upon his banker, for the whole amount, and left him.