"Well, how are you coming on?" said I.
"Oh, slowly," he replied.
"I expected to see you a day or two ago."
"I had nothing of consequence to return. But I will be in on Saturday."
I felt a kind of choking in my throat as I turned away. On Saturday the collector called—he opened his memorandum-book, and I my cash-book, preparatory to making entries of money returned.
"Mr. A——," said the collector, "says he never pays in advance for any thing."
"But the terms of the paper are in advance after the first three months."
"I know."
"Did you call his attention to this?"
"Oh, yes! but he said he didn't care for your terms. He'd been swindled once or twice by paying in advance, but never intended to give anybody the opportunity to do the same thing again."