"Very ingenious, Martinus," wheezed the banker. "And now for the details of that loan. Of course you weren't serious in setting such an absurdly low figure as ten and a half per cent.
"What? You're damn right I was serious! And you agreed—"
"Now, Martinus. What I meant was that after my clerks had learned your system, if it was as good as you claimed, I'd consider lending you money at that rate. But meanwhile you can't expect me to give you my—"
Padway jumped up. "You—you wielder of a—oh, hell, what's Latin for chisel? If you won't—"
"Don't be hasty, my young friend. After all, you've given my boys their start; they can go alone from there if need be. So you might as well—"
"All right, you just let them try to go on from there. I'll find another banker and teach his clerks properly. Subtraction, multiplication, div—"
"Ai!" yelped Thomasus. "You can't go spreading this secret all over Rome! It wouldn't be fair to me!"
"Oh, can't I? Just watch. I could even make a pretty good living teaching it. If you think—"
"Now, now, let's not lose our tempers. Let's remember Christ's teachings about patience. I'll make a special concession because you're just starting out in business . . ."
Padway got his loan at ten and a half. He agreed grudgingly not to reveal his arithmetic elsewhere until the first loan was paid off.