“How is it that you never happened to mention this matter to me?” asked Mansfield. “I never 104 heard you speak of Montgomery or of any money that he owed you.”
“It was a long time ago, when I lent it to him,” returned Aaron. “All of fifteen years, I reckon.”
“It seems to me that it was a good deal to put into one loan,” remarked Mansfield. “What security did he offer?”
“It wasn’t a matter of security, so much as it was of friendship and gratitude,” was the answer. “James Montgomery was one of the most upright men I ever met. His word was his bond, and when he borrowed money it was his character that was the best collateral.
“He had lent me money when I was struggling to get ahead in the world. I had expanded too rapidly in my desire to get ahead, and I was so tied up and so in need of ready cash that I was right on the brink of failure. I couldn’t get a loan from the banks, and I was almost in despair when I applied to James Montgomery. He went over my affairs with me, saw that I was really solvent, and that the trouble was only that immediate cash was needed to pull me through.
“He was doing well in business then, and he lent me the money and gave me all the time I needed to pay it back. It wasn’t long before I was on my feet again, and the first thing I did was to pay him back the full amount with interest.
“I vowed to myself then, that if the chance ever 105 offered, I’d do the same by him as he had done by me. And it wasn’t a meaningless vow, for I’ve never felt more warmly toward any one outside my own people before or since.
“It was some years, though, before I got my chance. Then I learned that he was in straits. He had built up a big business, but hard times came and squeezed him, and a big bank failure put the finishing touch to his ruin.
“I didn’t know of his predicament until it was too late to save him. But after he had recovered from the illness that followed his failure, I went to him and offered him as much money as he needed to start over again. His wife had a little property on the coast of Canada and with enough money to develop it, it promised to yield big returns. All told, I lent him about twelve thousand dollars.
“He paid the interest promptly every six months, and I never worried about the principal. I was sure if he lived that I’d get it back, and if he died, I’d charge it up to profit and loss.”