"I didn't doubt that it was, but I couldn't have sworn to him; I was too much engaged in taking stock of the two men I had come to ask for help."
"Did you ask for work?"
"Did you demand any special sum?"
"No; and I didn't demand it, I asked. I was playing the penitent game, the prodigal anxious to reform. Had I demanded I should have got nothing. I had sized up my men all right. I got twenty pounds, which was far more than I expected. I hadn't had such a sum to my name for years."
"Was the money given willingly?"
"Not exactly willingly. My Uncle Peter did most of the talking—lecturing it was—but he seemed more impressed with my tale than Uncle Simon did. Simon Judd had a good many reasons why I should not have the money, but it was evident that Peter usually had the last word and his own way. I should say he took the lead in most things."
"Did he actually give you the money?"
"Yes, counting it into my hand quid by quid, as if he'd been parting with a fortune."
"Where did he get it from? Did he take it out of his pocket?"