“Curtis,” he continued, “if a thousand dollars now will help you out, or two thousand, or even five, if you need it, I shall be glad to let you have the money.”
“Thank you, Judge,” was the prompt reply. “I can’t take your money, because I don’t know how or when I could pay you back.”
“What matter about that?” returned the other. “I have nobody to leave it to.”
“You were my father’s friend and my mother’s,” said Van Dyne. “I would take money from you if I could take it from anybody. But I can’t do that. You wouldn’t in my place, would you?”
The Judge did not answer this directly. “It is not easy to say what we should do if one were to stand in the other’s place,” he declared. “And if you change your mind, the money is ready for you whenever you want it.”
“You are very good to me, Judge,” said the young man, “and I appreciate your kindness—”
“Then don’t say anything more about it,” the elder man interrupted. “And you must forgive me for my plain speaking about that other matter.”
“About my joining the organization?” said Van Dyne. “Well, I’ll think over what you have said. I don’t want you to believe that I don’t understand the kindness that prompted you to say what you did. I haven’t really decided absolutely what I had best do.”
“It is a decision you must make for yourself, after all,” the Judge declared. “I will not urge you further.”
He held out his hand once more, and the young man grasped it heartily.