"You behold," said he, "one who has come to you offering himself as a client, whom, though you may find his business to be of a singular nature, you will also find to be extremely inclined to profit you well in the relations which he seeks to establish with you." "Sir," replied Griscombe, with no little importance of tone, "you come to me at a time of extreme inconveniency. It is now after half-past seven, and at nine o'clock I may be obliged to undertake a commission of importance beyond anything of which you can perhaps conceive. A journey of the utmost tragic importance lies before me; and this box, which you behold in my hands, belongs to a wealthy and liberal client, whose behests must in no wise be denied." "I am convinced," replied the stranger, in accents of the most extreme and deferential courtesy, "that your time must indeed be greatly in demand if you cannot afford to bestow a little of it upon myself. I am in a position to be perfectly well able to indulge every whim that seizes me; and just now it is my whim to become your client, and to purchase of you a considerable portion of your valuable time." At these words it began to occur to Griscombe that the eccentric being before him was, perhaps, better worth his attention than he had at first supposed. Accordingly, excusing himself for a moment, upon the plea that he had to dispose of his present charge, he entered his bedroom, and deposited the jewel-casket where he had before hidden it,--under his bed, and in the remotest corner of the room. Having thus left it in safety, he returned again to the office, where his second client was patiently awaiting his return. So soon as Griscombe had composed himself to listen, the other resumed his discourse as follows: "I am," said he, "as I before told you, perfectly well able to pay for every whim that seizes me. That I may convince you of this, I herewith offer you a fee which I feel well assured is equal to any you may have received in your life before. Behold, in this bag are a hundred pieces of gold, valued at twenty dollars each; and, if that is not sufficient, I am fully prepared to increase your fee to any reasonable extent." At these words Griscombe knew not whether his ears deceived him nor whether he or this new-found client were mad or sane. Nor could he at all accredit the truth of what he heard, until the stranger, opening the mouth of the bag, poured forth upon the table a great heap of jingling gold money. "You will," resumed his new-found client, with perfect composedness of manner, "be, no doubt, considerably surprised to learn the nature of the duty which I shall call upon you to perform. It is that you play me a game of jack-straws."