“Why not?”
“I can never humble myself to him.”
“It is not humbling yourself when you thank a man, be he friend or foe, for such a favor. Look here, Defarge, you have not many friends in college, have you?”
“No.”
“Neither have I.”
“Well?”
“We might become friends. We both desire some one whom we can regard as such. But, as I have forever renounced all intention of harming or trying to harm Merriwell, I cannot be the friend of any one who is plotting him injury. You have your choice now. Be a man and do the right thing with Merriwell and I will stick by you. If you do not—well, we can’t have much of anything to do with each other. That’s all.”
“I’ll have to think it over,” said Bertrand. “I’m tired now.”
“All right,” said Gene, preparing to go. “I hope you’ll come to your senses.”
He went out, leaving Defarge staring through the window at the pink of the morning sky.