Part 51 (1/2)
”Alive! The sight of you would have wakened me from the dead!”
”Eriksen, will you do me a favour?”
”Will I? Anything, Miss, anything a man can do.”
”I want a thousand pounds.”
Eriksen slid down from his stool.
”_A thousand--pounds!_ Heaven preserve us! A thousand! I haven't more than seven-and-six on me.
”But father has.”
”The Admiral! Yes, of course, he has; and more. But that's not mine.
Da--” he checked himself, recollecting it was not the Admiral to whom he was speaking--”dear me, you wouldn't have me steal his money?”
”Oh, all you need do is to let me have the key.”
”No, no, my dear young lady, no. It would never do.
”But it's only drawing a little in advance--on my inheritance, Eriksen, you know. That's all it is.”
He stood reflecting quite a while.
”But--what on earth do you want all that money for?”
She took his hand, and he trembled with emotion.
”Eriksen, you're my friend, aren't you?”
”Heaven knows I am, Miss.”
”Well, I'm going out into the wide world--to dance.”
”But, heavens alive--that makes it worse than ever! The Admiral, he surely isn't going off dancing as well?”
”No; Missa's coming with me. We leave to-morrow, for Paris, Eriksen--London--New York--oh, ever so far!”
”But--but then, I shall never see you again.”
”Indeed you shall, Eriksen; I'll send you tickets, a whole box all to yourself, for my performance in Paris. Just fancy, a box at the theatre all to yourself. And you must pay me a thousand pounds for it now.”
”But the Admiral--the Admiral! I might just as well give myself up and go to jail.”
”Don't talk nonsense, Eriksen! Are you my friend or are you not?”
The Princess got her thousand. And Eriksen duly entered in his cash book: