Mr. Daney gnawed his thumb nail furiously. "'The wicked flee when no man pursueth'," he quoted. "However, Mr. Donald, you know as well as I do that if your father should forbid it, a dicky bird couldn't make a living in this town."
"There are no such restrictions in Darrow, Mr. Daney. The superintendent up there will give me a job on the river."
Mr. Daney could not forbear an expression of horror. "Hector McKaye's son a river hog!" he cried incredulously.
"Well, Donald McKaye's father was a river hog, wasn't he?"
"Oh, but times have changed since Hector was a pup, my boy. Why, this is dreadful."
"No, Mr. Daney. Merely unusual."
"Well, Donald, I think your father will raise the ante considerably in order to avoid that added disgrace and force you to listen to reason."
"If he does, sir, please spare yourself the trouble of bearing his message. Neither Nan nor I is for sale, sir."
"I told him you'd decline the bonds. However, Mr. Donald, there is no reason in life why you shouldn't get money from me whenever you want it. Thanks to your father I'm worth more than a hundred thousand myself, although you'd never guess it. Your credit is A-1 with me."
"I shall be your debtor for life because of that speech, Mr. Daney. Any news from my mother and the girls?"