"Better the chance should go than that he should lose his honour."
"Well, that is a very fine sentiment, no doubt—a very fine sentiment. And your friend, it seems, acts up to it."
"And what has he lost in consequence?"
"Heaps they say. Not permanently, perhaps; for as it happens, the iron is of better quality than was expected. But he might have made his pile right off without trouble or risk."
"And without giving any honest quid pro quo?"
"Those who speculate must take their chance, my child. If people are willing to take risks, why let 'em. Suppose there had been no iron at all?"
"Well, what then?"
"Why, he would have been the poorer by hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"That might not be to his disadvantage. 'A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesseth.'"
"Most people think it does, at any rate."