“You may have the money.”
“On long time?”
“The time and the terms are immaterial.”
“I’ll come for it later,” announced Lake, and he departed, leaving Belden puzzled and curious.
Once outside, Lake stopped to do a little mental figuring before taking up the other details of his plan.
“I advanced five hundred to bind the option,” he reflected. “That leaves nineteen thousand five hundred necessary to put the deal through. Twenty thousand from Belden will give me just the margin I need.”
Murray was as much puzzled and surprised by the change in the man as Belden had been, and Murray, like Belden, was anxious to help him in any reasonably safe way.
“Am I good for five hundred for thirty days, if I give you my positive assurance that I know exactly how I am going to pay it in that time?” asked Lake.
“Why, yes,” replied Murray. “On short-time figuring you’re a pretty safe man.”
“Draw me a check for it, and I’ll give you my thirty-day note,” said Lake, “and my verbal assurance that it’s a cinch.”