"None better. It means going back to what you helped me out of--the life that nearly killed me."
"And you"d rather--"
"I"d rather that a thousand years before I"d sponge on you another day.... But, on the level, I"d as lieve try the East River or turn on the gas.... What"s the use? That"s the way I feel."
"That"s fool talk. Brace up and be a man. All you need is a way to earn money."
"No," Duncan insisted firmly: "get it. I"ll never be able to earn it--that"s a cinch."
Kellogg laughed a little mirthlessly, absorbed in revolving something which had popped into his head within the last few moments. "There are ways to get it," he admitted abstractedly, "if you"re not too particular."
"I"m not. I only wish I understood the burglar business."
This time Kellogg laughed outright. He sat up with a new spirit in his manner. "You mean you"d steal to get money?"
"Oh, well ..." Duncan smiled a trace sheepishly. "I can"t think of anything hardly I wouldn"t do to get it."
"Very well, my son. Now attend to uncle." Kellogg leaned across the table, fixing him with an enthusiastic eye. "Here, have a smoke. I"m going to demonstrate high finance to your debased intelligence." He thrust the cigarette case over to Duncan, who helped himself mechanically, his gaze held in wonder to Kellogg"s face.
"Fire when ready," he a.s.sented.
"I know a way," said Kellogg slowly, "by which, if you"ll discard a scruple or two, you can be worth a million dollars--or thereabouts--within a year."
Duncan held a lighted match until it singed his fingertips, the while he stared agape. "Say that again," he requested mildly.
"You can be worth a million in a year."
"Ah!" Duncan nodded slowly and comprehendingly. He turned aside in his chair and raked a second match across the sole of his shoe. "Let him rave," he observed enigmatically, and began to smoke.
"No, I"m not dippy; and I"m perfectly serious."
"Of course. But what"d they do to me if I were caught?"
"This is not a joke; the proposition"s perfectly legal; it"s being done right along."
"And I could do it, Harry?"
"A man of your calibre couldn"t fail."
"Would you mind ringing for Robbins?" Duncan asked abruptly.
"Certainly." Kellogg pressed a b.u.t.ton at his elbow. "What d"you want?"
"A straight-jacket and a doctor to tell which one of us needs it."
Kellogg, chagrined as he always was if joked with when expounding one of his schemes, broke into a laugh that lasted until Robbins appeared.
"You rang, sir?"
"Yes. Put those decanters over here, and some gla.s.ses, please."
"Yes, sir."
The man obeyed and withdrew. Kellogg filled two gla.s.ses, handing one to Duncan.
"Now be decent and listen to me, Nat. I"ve thought this thing over for--oh, any amount of time. I"ll bet anything it will work. What d"you say? Would you like to try it?"
"Would I like to try it?" A conviction of Kellogg"s earnestness forced itself upon Duncan"s understanding. "Would I--!" He lifted his gla.s.s and drained it at a gulp. "Why, that"s the first laugh I"ve had for a month!"
"Then I"ll tell you--"
Duncan placed a pleading hand on his forearm. "Don"t kid me, Harry," he entreated.
"Not a bit of it. This is straight goods. If you want to try it and will follow the rules I lay down, I"ll guarantee you"ll be a rich man inside of twelve months."
"Rules! Man, I"ll follow all the rules in the world! Come on--I"m getting palpitation of the heart, waiting. Tell it to me: what"ve I got to do?"
"Marry," said Kellogg serenely.
"Marry!" Duncan echoed, aghast.
"Marry," reaffirmed the other with unbroken gravity.
"Marry--who?"
"A girl with a fortune.... You see, I can"t guarantee the precise size of her pile. That all depends on luck and the locality. But it"ll run anywhere from several hundred thousand up to a million--perhaps more."
Duncan sank back despondently. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Harry," he said dully; "you had me all excited, for a minute."
"No, but honestly, I mean what I say."
"Now look here: do you really think any girl with a million would take a chance on me?"
"She"ll jump at it."
Duncan thought this over for a while. Then his lips twitched. "What"s the matter with her?" he inquired. "I"m willing to play the game as it lies, but I bar lunatics and cripples."
"There"s no particular her--yet. You can take your pick. I"ve no more idea where she is than you have."
"Now I know you"re stark, staring, gibbering----"
"Not a bit of it. I"m inspired--that"s all. I"ve solved your problem--you only can"t believe it."
"How could I? What the devil are you getting at, anyhow?"
"This pet scheme of mine. Lend me your ears. Have you ever lived in a one-horse country town--a place with one unspeakable hotel and about twenty stores and five churches?"
"No ..."