Читать книгу Frank Merriwell's Trust; Or, Never Say Die онлайн

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“I shall cut all my friends of that set, Mr. Merriwell—I swear it! I have learned my lesson this night. That poor fellow who wanted to blow his brains out—ah! that turned my blood to water! It showed me the road I was traveling. I felt that I might stand in his place before the night was over!”

“And so you might had you stayed there to gamble. Had you won to-night, you would have come back. Some night you would have lost everything. That would have been the end.”

Madison shuddered.

“I know you have saved me, Frank Merriwell!” he said. “But who are you? Are you some good angel who goes round saving foolish fellows from the results of their folly?”

“Not exactly!”

“And how can you he sure you’ll ever get back one dollar of the money you have offered to loan me?

“I am sure because I believe in you.”

“But you may be deceived. You know that. You may not get the money back. How dare you take the other risk?”

“I dare not take the other risk!”

“Why—what do you mean?”

“If I did not take this risk I know what the result would be. If I did not let you have the money, I know you would go straight the downward road to destruction. I consider a human life and a human soul worth more than a paltry thousand.”