Van Teuten wrote as he was told, and in a quarter of an hour the work was finished. He perceived, with visible complacency, how much better his writing was than that of his colleague.
“Two different kinds of writing! Never yet happened with a document of mine; and it’s got to go to the King and the Cabinet Council!”
With these words Van Arlen rushed out of the room, leaving Prigson alone with Van Teuten.
“Can you copy decently?” asked Prigson.
“I venture to say, sir, that there isn’t another hand like mine in this department.”
“What do you earn at this work, now?”
“Six hundred guilders, sir. Mr Van Arlen has perhaps told you that I am financially in circumstances of great difficulty.”
“Well, it is indeed too little for a man who writes a hand like that; but surely you’re out of all your troubles now?”
“I?—I just wish I were!”
“Why, a man who knows all about a secret document like this need not be poor any longer than he likes.”