“If I had lost it, I have plenty more, but the most serious peril was to my life. Through your opportune assistance I have escaped without loss. I fully appreciate the magnitude of the service you have done me. As an evidence of it, please accept these bills.”
He drew from the roll two bills and handed them to Dodger.
The boy, glancing at them mechanically, started in amazement. Each bill was for five hundred dollars.
“You have given me a thousand dollars!” he gasped.
“I am aware of it. I consider my life worth that, at least. James Swinton never fails to pay his debts.”
“But, sir, a thousand dollars——”
“It’s no more than you deserve. When I tell my wife, on my return to Chicago, about this affair, she will blame me for not giving you more.”
“You seem to belong to a liberal family, sir.”
“I detest meanness, and would rather err on the side of liberality. Now, if agreeable to you, I will order a bottle of champagne, and solace ourselves for this little incident.”
“Thank you, Mr. Swinton, but I have made up my mind not to drink anything stronger than water. I have tended bar in New York, and what I have seen has given me a dislike for liquor of any kind.”