"No, I suppose you don't care to hear about it, John. But I want to
tell you; so I guess you'll listen to please me?"
John Gordon said nothing.
"It isn't a long story," Dr. Lavendar said, and told him briefly of the
funeral. When he ended there was silence. Then, "John," Dr. Lavendar
said.
"Yes, Edward."
"The man is in need."
"What's that to me?" the other burst out.
"Much," said Dr. Lavendar; "it gives you a chance."
"You mean a chance to give him some money?" said the other. "Good God!
To pay the scoundrel for what he did to us? Edward, you don't
understand human nature."
"He spent his last cent making Mary comfortable, John. She told me so
herself."
"I will never give that--creature one penny of my clean money."
Dr. Lavendar said nothing.
The older man bent forward, shivering, and stirred the fire. The coal
broke into sputtering fragments and the flames roared up into the soot.
"Alex would never listen to giving him any money."
"Don't ask him to listen to it. Haven't you got your own check-book?"
"Let him rot. That's what Alex says."
"I don't believe it's what you say, John, because he was good to
Mary;--and you were not."
Mr. Gordon groaned.
"Well, I won't give him anything; I'll lend it, possibly."
Dr. Lavendar frowned and got up.
Mr. Gordon put out a trembling, detaining hand.
"Edward, you don't understand.... How much do you want for him?"
"He had saved about $1200 to go into some business. It's all gone."
"Well, I won't give it to him," the other repeated, with feeble
sharpness; "I'll lend it--to please you."
"I'm sorry you haven't a better motive."
John Gordon got up and went over to his library-table and fumbled about
in one of the drawers for his check-book. "I'm a fool," he said,
fretfully; "I don't know but what I'm worse. Lending money to-- But
you say he was good to her? Poor Mary! Oh!" he ended, half to
himself, "I don't know why Alex is so hard." Then he took his quill
and began to scrawl his check. "I'd rather see him starve," he said.
"No, you wouldn't," Dr. Lavendar said, calmly.
"Well, there! Take it! Get a receipt."
"Johnny, think better of it."
"You needn't take it if you don't want to," the other said, sullenly.
Dr. Lavendar took it, and John Gordon called after him,
"You won't tell Alex?"
Dr. Lavendar shook his head and sighed. As he drove home he said to
himself that a loan was better than nothing. "But, Danny, my boy," he
added, "what a chance he had! Well, he'll take it yet--he'll take it
yet. The trouble with me, Daniel, is, I'm in too much of a hurry to
make folks good. I must reform."
Danny blinked a grave agreement, and Dr. Lavendar, dropping his
shortcomings joyfully from his mind, began to sing to himself:
"Oh! what has caused this great commotion--motion--motion
Our country through?"
When, however, a day or two later, Dr. Lavendar went up to Mercer to
take the check to Algernon Keen, he found to his astonishment that it
was not so easy to secure to his old friend even the smaller and meaner
opportunity of lending, much less giving.
At first, Algernon looked at him open-mouthed. "_Him_--offering to
lend money to--?" His astonishment robbed him of words. Then into his
poor, shallow face came the first keen touch of shame. But instantly
he was ashamed of his shame,--ashamed, like so many of us strange human
creatures, of the stirring of God within him. He didn't want their
dirty money, he said. They thought themselves so good, they couldn't
stomach Mary. Well, then, they were too good for him to touch their
money. His voice shook with angry grief. His bitterness was genuine,
even though he used it to hide that first regenerative pang of shame.
No; Dr. Lavendar could take their money back to them. "I spent my last
cent, just about, on Mary," he said; "and I didn't begrudge it, either."
"I'm sure you didn't begrudge it."
Algy's weak mouth shook and his eyes filled; he turned away and stared
out of the window. "He better have offered to lend her some money than
me," he said. "I bet he's glad she's dead."
(Dr. Lavendar thought of Alex.) "He wants to help you now for her
sake," he said.
"I don't want his money," the younger man insisted, brokenly; "he let
her die."
"I think that it would please her to have you take it."
"I don't want to be under obligations to those people," Algernon said,
doggedly.
"If Mr. Gordon has your note, it's business."