Mongolians from that expressed by Abel Kraus. "Who knows what
difficulties they are in?--maybe they'd pay it if they could," muttered
he, as he slapped his boot with his cane, and fell into a musing fit.

"Dey shall not have one kreutzer of my moneys; I can tell dem dat!" said
Kraus, as he buttoned up the keys of his strong-box, as though suiting
the action to his words.

"Don't put up the keys so soon, Abel!" said Dalton, with an effort at a
laugh. "I want to see the inside of that little iron trunk there."

"You no want money, Herr von Dalton!" exclaimed the other, in amazement.
"You no want money! you draw eight hundred florin on Tuesday; you have
four hundred on Wednesday evening, and seven rouleaux of Napoleons; on
Saturday again I send you twenty thousand franc!"

"All true,--every word of it," said Dalton; "but there's no use telling
a hungry man about the elegant dinner he ate last week! The short of the
matter is, I want cash now."

Kraus appeared to reflect for a few minutes, and then said, "If a leetle
sum will do--"

"Faix! it will not. I want five hundred Naps., at the very least."

Kraus threw down his pen, and stared at him without speaking.

"One would think from your face, Abel, that I was asking for a loan of
the National Debt. I said five hundred Naps.!"

Abel shook his head mournfully, and merely muttered "Ja! ja!" to
himself. "We will look over de account, Herr von Dalton," said he, at
last; "perhaps I am wrong, I no say, I am sure; but I tink--dat is, I
believe--you overdraw very much your credit."

"Well, supposing I did; is it the first time?" said Dalton, angrily.
"Ain't I as good a man now as I was before?"

"You are a very goot man, I know well; a very goot and a very pleasant
man; but you know de old German proverb, 'Das Gut ist nicht Gelt.'"

"I never heard it till now," muttered Peter, sulkily; "but if a robber
in this country put a pistol to your head, he 'd be sure to have a
proverb to justify him! But to come to the point,----can I have the
money?"

"I fear very mush--No!" was the dry response.

"No,--is it?" cried Dalton, starting up from his seat; "did you say no?"

Kraus nodded twice, slowly and deliberately.

"Then bad luck to the rap ever you'll see more of _my_ money," cried
Peter, passionately. "You old Jewish thief, I ought to have known you
long ago; fifty, sixty, seventy per cent I was paying for the use of
my own cash, and every bill I gave as good as the ba