"Can you?" asked the old woman eagerly. "How?"
"If you'll lend me three dollars till Saturday—I get my wages then—I'll pay you twenty-five cents for the accommodation."
"But you might not pay me," said the old woman cautiously, "and it would kill me to lose three dollars."
Mark wanted to laugh, but felt that it would not do.
"There isn't any danger," he said. "I get two weeks' pay on Saturday. It will be as much as nine dollars, so you see you are sure of getting back your money."
"I—I don't know. I am afraid."
"What are you afraid of?"
"You might get run over by the horse cars, or a truck, and then you couldn't get your money."
"I will be careful for your sake, Mrs. Mack," said Mark good-humoredly. "You'll get your money back, and twenty-five cents more."
The old woman's face was a study—between avarice on the one hand and timidity on the other.