Everything went wrong."
"And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"
"It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks,
too. I'd had luck with Nick before; but--well, there it is, Flood."
"They know--the railway people--Shaughnessy knows?"
"Yes, the president knows. He's at Calgary now. They telegraphed him, and
he wired to give me till midnight to pay up, or go to jail. They're
watching me now. I can't stir. There's no escape, and there's no one I
can ask for help but you. That's why I've come, Flood."
"Lord, what a fool! Couldn't you see what the end would be, if your
plunging didn't come off? You--you oughtn't to bet, or speculate, or play
cards, you're not clever enough. You've got blind rashness, and so you
think you're bold. And Di--oh, you idiot! And on a salary of a thousand
dollars a year!"
"I suppose Di would help me; but I couldn't explain." The weak face
puckered, a lifeless kind of tear gathered in the ox-like eyes.
"Yes, she probably would help you. She'd probably give you all she's
saved to go to Europe with and study, saved from her pictures sold at
twenty per cent of their value; and she'd mortgage the little income
she's got to keep her brother out of jail.
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