"Let me see your deed, my dear," he said, with coarse familiarity.
"My name is Miss Allen," replied Edith, with dignity.
The man paid little heed to her rebuke, but looked over the deed with slow and microscopic scrutiny. At last he said to Edith, whom nothing but dire necessity impelled to have dealings with so disagreeable a person:
"Will you come with me to my office?"
Reluctantly she followed. At first she had a strong impulse to have nothing to do with him, but then she thought, "It makes no difference of whom I borrow the money, for it must be paid in any case, and perhaps I can't get it anywhere else."
"Are you sure there is no other mortgage?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Edith.
"How much do you want?"
"I will try to make four hundred answer."
"I suppose you know how hard it is to borrow money now," said Mr. Crowl, in a depressing manner, "especially in cases like this. I don't believe you'd get a dollar anywhere else in town. Even where everything is good and promising, we usually get a bonus on such a loan. The best I could do would be to let you have three hundred and sixty on such a mortgage."