"No."
"What other reason have you?"
"I'll tell you. You're the sort of boy we want. You ain't any whining, milk-and-water sort of boy. You're brave and spirited. You would be worth a good deal to us."
Burglar though Jack was, Jasper was not insensible to the compliment. Any boy likes to be considered spirited, even if he does not deserve it, and he felt flattered by this tribute, which he felt that he deserved, at least, in part.
"I am glad you have a good opinion of my courage," he said, "but I think I can find a better use for it than in the career you open to me. If I accepted your proposal from fear of imprisonment it would show that I was not such a boy as you describe."
"You are an obstinate fool!" said Jack, with a frown.
"I am obstinate in this," said Jasper, composedly. "You want to spoil my life by making me a criminal."
"Do you mean to call me a criminal!" exclaimed Jack, angrily.
"I call you nothing—I only take you at your word."
"You'll talk differently from this a week from now!" said Jack, prepariug to shut the sliding-door.