I haven't asked him for
it; I sha'n't ask him for it until he is quite ready and able to pay;
why, therefore, should he borrow from you? Take back your check, Mr.
Mangan; I understand what you were willing to do for your friend; I
assure you it is quite uncalled for."
But Maurice refused. He explained all the circumstances of the
case--Lionel's feverish condition, his fretting about the debt, the
necessity for keeping his mind pacified, and so on; and at last Lord
Rockminster said,
"Very well; you can tell him you have given me the check. At the same
time you can't compel me to pay it into my bankers'; and I don't see why
I should take three hundred pounds of your money when you don't owe me
any. When Mr. Moore gets perfectly well again, you can tell him he still
owes me three hundred pounds--and he can take his own time about paying
it." And with that Maurice took his leave, Lord Rockminster going down
the stair with him and out to the hall-door, where he bade him good-bye.
When he returned to Piccadilly, he said to the nurse,
"I suppose you can sleep at a moment's notice?"
"Pretty well, sir," she answered, with a demure professional smile.
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