"And you've got one pound—d'you see that?"
He held it up, as if he was going to do a conjuring trick with it.
Of course I said I did see it.
"Then, if you owe two pounds and can only find one, how much are you going to pay in the pound?"
"Whatever you think would be sportsmanlike, Gideon," I said.
"It isn't a question of being sportsmanlike, it's a question of simple arithmetic," he said. "You've got twenty shillings, and you owe forty; you owe just twice as many as you've got; therefore it follows that you'll pay ten shillings in the pound; and that's a good deal more than many people can."
"I'll pay more than that," I said. "I'll pay fifteen shillings."
"What an ass you are, Bannister!" answered Gideon. "You can't pay fifteen shillings, you haven't got it to pay."
"My Dear chap," I said, "I've got a pound."
"You've got nothing at all," he said. "You pay ten shillings in each of the two pounds you owed, and then there's nothing left."