Dorn's candid face showed how much he was impressed. This beautiful, earnest girl, sweet and frank, seemed herself to be another view of Martin Hastings' character—one more in accord with her strong belief in the essential goodness of human nature.
Said he: "Your father owes us nothing. As for the road—its debt never existed legally—only morally. And it has been outlawed long ago—for there's a moral statute of limitations, too. The best thing that ever happened to us was our not getting that money. It put us on our mettle. It might have crushed us. It happened to be just the thing that was needed to make us."
Jane marveled at this view of his family, at the verge of poverty, as successful. But she could not doubt his sincerity. Said she sadly, "But it's not to the credit of the road—or of father. He must pay—and he knows he must."
"We can't accept," said Dorn—a finality.
"But you could use it to build up the paper," urged Jane, to detain him.
"The paper was started without money. It lives without money—and it will go on living without money, or it ought to die."
"I don't understand," said Jane. "But I want to understand. I want to help. Won't you let me?"
He shook his head laughingly. "Help what?" inquired he. "Help raise the sun? It doesn't need help."
Jane began to see. "I mean, I want to be helped," she cried.
"Oh, that's another matter," said he. "And very simple."