here did you get all that? Whose is it?"

"It's your money, Condy. You loaned it to me, and now it has come in
very handy."

"I LOANED it to you?"

"It's the money I won from you during the time you've been playing
poker with me. You didn't know it would amount to so much, did you?"

"Pshaw, I'll not touch it!" he exclaimed, drawing back from the money
as though it was red-hot.

"Yes, you will," she told him. "I've been saving it up for you, Condy,
every penny of it, from the first day we played down there at the lake;
and I always told myself that the moment you made up your mind to quit
playing, I would give it back to you."

"Why, the very idea!" he vociferated, his hands deep in his pockets,
his face scarlet. "It's--it's preposterous, Blix! I won't let you TALK
about it even--I won't touch a nickel of that money. But, Blix,
you're--you're--the finest woman I ever knew. You're a man's woman,
that's what you are." He set his teeth. "If you loved a man, you'd be
a regular pal to him; you'd back him up, you'd stand by him till the
last gun was fired. I could do ANYTHING if a WOMAN like you cared for
me. Why, Blix, I--you haven't any idea--" He cleared his throat,
stopping abruptly.

"But you must take this money," she answered; "YOUR money. If you
didn't, Condy, it would make me out nothing more nor less than a
gambler. I wouldn't have dreamed of playing cards with you if I had
ever intended to keep one penny of your money. From the very start I
intended to keep it for you, and give it back to you so soon as you
would stop; and now you have a chance to put this money to a good use.
You don't have to stay on the 'Times' now. You can't do your novel
justice while you are doing your hack work at the same time, and I do
so want 'In Defiance of Authority' to be a success. I've faith in you,
Condy. I know if you got the opportunity you would make a success."

"But you and I have played like two men playing," exclaimed Condy.
"How would it look if Sargeant, say, should give me back the money he
had won from me? What a cad I would be to take it!"

"That's just it--we've not played like two men. Then I WOULD have been
a gambler. I've played with you because I thought it would make a way
for you to break off with the habit; and knowing as I did how fond you
were of playing cards and how bad it was for you, how wicked it would
have been for me to have played with you in any other spirit! Don't you
see?