"
Jack had heard him through without interruption. Most of it--
especially Cohen's affection for Peter--he had known before. It
was the last statement that roused him.
"Well, if you must know, Mr. Cohen--it is not for myself, but for
a friend."
The Jew smiled. He saw that the young man had told the truth.
Peter's confidence in the boy, then, need not be shaken.
"And how much money do you need for your friend?" His eyes were
still reading Jack.
"Well, a very large sum." Jack did not like the cross-examination,
but somehow he could not resent it.
"But, my dear young man, will you not tell me? If you buy a coat,
do you not want to know the price? If you pay for an indiscretion,
is not the sum named in the settlement?"
"Ten thousand dollars."
There was no change in the Jew's face. The smile did not alter.
"And this is the money that Mr. Grayson tried to borrow for you,
and failed? Is it not so?"
Jack nodded.
"And you have tried everywhere to get it yourself? All the
afternoon you have been at it?" Still the same queer smile--one of
confirmation, as if he had known it all the time.
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