His hands were gripping the arms of his chair tightly; his face was very pale, but his eyes sparkled.
The Doctor turned to him gravely.
"Your life is at stake, my boy," he said, "this is not a matter for impulse."
"I'm going whether any one else does or not," persisted the Very Young Man. "You can't stop me, either," he added doggedly. "That letter said——"
The Doctor smiled at the youth's earnestness. Then abruptly he held out his hand.
"There is no use my holding back my own decision. I am going to attempt the trip. And since, as you say, I cannot stop you from going," he added with a twinkle, "that makes two of us."
They shook hands. The Very Young Man lighted a cigarette, and began pacing up and down the room, staring hard at the floor.
"I can remember trying to imagine how I would feel," began the Big Business Man slowly, "if Rogers had asked me to go with him when he first went into the ring. It is not a new idea to me, for I have thought about it many times in the abstract, during the past five years. But now that I am face to face with it in reality, it sort of——" He broke off, and smiled helplessly around at his companions.
The Very Young Man stopped in his walk. "Aw, come on in," he began, "the——"
"Shut up," growled the Banker, speaking for the first time in many minutes.