She came slowly forward, not looking at Jake. "It's too great," she said. "I might have been glad of it once. But now--now--" She broke off.
Jake drew forward a chair. "Reckon you'll find it just as useful now as then," he said.
She glanced at him quickly, and a tinge of colour rose in her face. "Oh, I daresay we shall all find it useful," she said.
Jake's expression was enigmatical. He stood up squarely, looking straight before him. "You'll be able to buy anything and everything you want," he said, "to live where and how you like; in short you'll be in a position to create your own atmosphere. Money is freedom; remember that! If you choose to buy a team of camels and trundle off into the desert, there's no one can prevent you."
She shivered as if a cold blast had struck her, and leaned towards the fire. "I'm not particularly fond of the desert," she said, in a low voice.
"Oh, you needn't go alone," Jake said. "You'll be able to buy your friends by the score and populate all the lonely places."
There was no sound of scoffing in his voice. It was even not without a hint of kindliness. But she shook her head in silence.
And suddenly Bunny knelt down beside her, thrusting an impetuous arm about her waist. "Say, Maud, he's only rotting. We'll have a ripping time together presently. Don't be so down in the mouth, old girl! There's plenty of fun to be got out of life."
She smiled with lips that trembled. "I'm afraid I'm getting rather old, Bunny," she said wistfully, "old enough anyhow to know that money doesn't bring happiness."
"Depends how you spend it," maintained Bunny stoutly. "Of course it is a downright curse to the people who hoard it--like that beast who buried his talent. But you can make any amount of happiness out of it if you try. Think of the crowds you can reach with it! That's where the fun comes in. Why, you reap as fast as you sow!"