It was almost a shock to me—his unexpected honesty and my good-fortune. After all, he could not be so bad as I had thought him.
“Broke and lookin' for a job, I suppose?” he queried, with a smile.
“I've only a little money, and don't know yet what I'm going to do.”
“How would you like to earn fifty dollars to-day?”
Fifty dollars! It was a great sum! I could go home with it and possibly pay my fine, if that were necessary. But how so much in a day if it were honest money?
“It will take nerve,” he said. “I guess you're not brave enough.”
“You're wrong there. I'm brave enough for any work—if it's honest.”
“Oh, it's as honest as my aunt Maria,” he assured me.
I knew that venerable lady, and on the score of honor it seemed rather promising.
“It's as safe as standing here on the sidewalk, but, old boy, it will take some nerve,” he went on. “It will take more nerve than I've got, and I'm no squab at that.”