"And you still wish to enter into the arrangement?"
"Of course I do. What do you take me for?"
"Remember, I am no sentimentalist, and whatever may happen to you, I shall be compelled in the end to claim my bond."
Sterne laughed a little bitterly. "You do not mean to insult me, I know. Nevertheless your words imply a doubt that I cannot help resenting. If the worst comes to the worst, you will have no need to claim your bond. You will get your own back without effort, and with compound interest."
"I have no desire to insult you, certainly. But equally am I desirous of preventing any misunderstanding later on. In a business transaction of this kind one cannot be too explicit. The time-limit I am compelled to insist upon."
"It is quite ample," Sterne broke in, impatiently. "I shall know my fate long before the end of next year."
"I hope you will succeed even beyond what you hope for."
"Let me tell you for the twentieth time that I am bound to succeed. When shall I have the money?"
"The day after to-morrow."
"That will do. Now I am a happy man."