"Thirty-five and seven is forty-two," she murmured, counting off on her fingers, "and six is forty-eight, and ten is fifty-eight, and ten is sixty-eight; and here is ten, twenty, thirty, fifty-five cents in change." She thrust it all toward him, across the table. "There," she said, "is your wherewithal."Condy stared. "My wherewithal!" he muttered.
"It ought to be enough for over a month."
"Where did you get all that? Whose is it?"
"It's your money, Condy. You loaned it to me, and now it has come in very handy.""I LOANED it to you?"
"It's the money I won from you during the time you've been playing poker with me. You didn't know it would amount to so much, did you?""Pshaw, I'll not touch it!" he exclaimed, drawing back from the money as though it was red-hot.
"Yes, you will," she told him. "I've been saving it up for you, Condy, every penny of it, from the first day we played down there at the lake; and I always told myself that the moment you made up your mind to quit playing, I would give it back to you.""Why, the very idea!" he vociferated, his hands deep in his pockets, his face scarlet. "It's--it's preposterous, Blix! Iwon't let you TALK about it even--I won't touch a nickel of that money. But, Blix, you're--you're--the finest woman I ever knew.
You're a man's woman, that's what you are." He set his teeth. "If you loved a man, you'd be a regular pal to him; you'd back him up, you'd stand by him till the last gun was fired. I could do ANYTHING if a WOMAN like you cared for me. Why, Blix, I--you haven't any idea--" He cleared his throat, stopping abruptly.
"But you must take this money," she answered; "YOUR money. If you didn't, Condy, it would make me out nothing more nor less than a gambler. I wouldn't have dreamed of playing cards with you if Ihad ever intended to keep one penny of your money. From the very start I intended to keep it for you, and give it back to you so soon as you would stop; and now you have a chance to put this money to a good use. You don't have to stay on the 'Times' now.
You can't do your novel justice while you are doing your hack work at the same time, and I do so want 'In Defiance of Authority' to be a success. I've faith in you, Condy. I know if you got the opportunity you would make a success.""But you and I have played like two men playing," exclaimed Condy.
"How would it look if Sargeant, say, should give me back the money he had won from me? What a cad I would be to take it!""That's just it--we've not played like two men. Then I WOULD have been a gambler. I've played with you because I thought it would make a way for you to break off with the habit; and knowing as Idid how fond you were of playing cards and how bad it was for you, how wicked it would have been for me to have played with you in any other spirit! Don't you see? And as it has turned out, you've given up playing, and you've enough money to make it possible for you to write your novel. The Centennial Company have asked you to try a story of adventure for them, you've found one that is splendid, you're just the man who could handle it, and now you've got the money to make it possible. Condy," she exclaimed suddenly, "don't you see your CHANCE? Aren't you a big enough man to see your chance when it comes? And, besides, do you think Iwould take MONEY from you? Can't you understand? If you don't take this money that belongs to you, you would insult me. That is just the way I would feel about it. You must see that. If you care for me at all, you'll take it."The editor of the Sunday Supplement put his toothpick behind his ear and fixed Condy with his eyeglasses.
"Well, it's like this, Rivers," he said. "Of course, you know your own business best. If you stay on here with us, it will be all right. But I may as well tell you that I don't believe I can hold your place for a month. I can't get a man in here to do your work for just a month, and then fire him out at the end of that time. I don't like to lose you, but if you have an opportunity to get in on another paper during this vacation of yours, you're at liberty to do so, for all of me.""Then you think my chance of coming back here would be pretty slim if I leave for a month now?""That's right."
There was a silence. Condy hesitated; then he rose.
"I'll take the chance," he announced.
To Blix, that evening, as he told her of the affair, he said:
"It's neck or nothing now, Blix."
