“A thousand dollars,” replied the money-lender.
“A thousand dollars!” ejaculated the startled Murray. “What the devil did he do with the money?”
“That is something that does not concern me,” said the money-lender carelessly.
The confidence and carelessness of the reply recalled Murray to a consciousness of the situation. He had a sharp and hard game to play with a clever and unscrupulous man.
“How much did you loan him?” he demanded.
“The note is for a thousand dollars,” was the prompt reply.
“How much did you loan him, Shylock?” repeated Murray, and the money-lender was startled out of his complacent confidence.
“I didn’t come here to be insulted!” he exclaimed. “I hold the policy and the assignment of it as security. If you can’t talk business, as man to man, I’ll quit and leave the matter to a lawyer.”
“If you put one foot outside of that door,” retorted Murray, “we’ll fight this matter to a finish, Shylock, and we’ll get some points on your business methods. Come back and sit down.”
The money-lender had made a pretense of leaving, but he paused and met the cold, hard look of Murray. Then he came back.