She could not doubt that he was speaking the
truth, yet she could not believe that conceit could so
befog common sense in a man who, for all his slowness
and shallowness, was more than ordinarily shrewd.
``Even if I thought I loved you,'' said she, ``I
couldn't be sure in these circumstances that I wasn't
after your money.''
``Don't worry about that,'' replied he. ``I
understand you better than you understand yourself.''
``Let's stop talking about it,'' said she impatiently.
``I want to explain to you the business side of this.''
She took her purse from the table. ``Here are the
papers.'' She handed him a check and a note. ``I
made them out at the bank this morning. The note is
for what I owe you--and draws interest at four per
cent. The check is for all the money I have left except
about four hundred dollars. I've some bills I must pay,
and also I didn't dare quite strip myself. The note may
not be worth the paper it's written on, but I hope--''
Before she could prevent him he took the two papers,
and, holding them out of her reach, tore them to bits.
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