“You have even recovered ten thousand dollars of the stolen money.”
“Yes, but that part of it was all involuntary—I did not set out to catch the thieves or to recover the stolen money.”
“You did both, though,” said Wheeler, heartily, “and I am seventy thousand dollars ahead by reason of your good work. For without your assistance I should have lost the twenty thousand stake money, and would never have recovered the ten thousand.”
“You should have faced the loss of the twenty thousand dollars like a man, and not resorted to the race track to get even. Don’t come to me if you ever get into another scrape of the same sort. You re[{61}]member the promise you made me when I entered upon the case?”
“What was it?”
“You promised that if I would assist you in saving your money that you would invest the money belonging to these heirs in some safe and secure manner, where it would be beyond your reach.”
“And you may rest assured that I will do all that and more. They shall have all the money I have won by the use of their money.”
“There is one thing more. I want you to give the little jockey a thousand dollars when he comes to your office to-morrow. I leave my compensation entirely to yourself.”
“It shall be ten thousand dollars, if it is a cent. Come around in the morning and get the check.”
“You’d better collect in all your bets this afternoon,” said Nick, as the two men parted, “for the pool-rooms have been hit hard. I just won a few hundred myself; not because I wanted to win the money, but because I found myself in places where I had to bet. I have a private charity fund, however, which will care for that.”