"
"I need not say the work will be very difficult. Remember that your
errand will not be official, so in case of failure or trouble we could
not support you. We might even have to disclaim all responsibility. In
the event of success, on the other hand, your fortune is something more
than made."
"Would you go?" came the question.
"No," said Wratislaw, "I shouldn't."
"But if you were in my place?"
"I should hope that I would, but then I might not have the courage. I
am giving you the brave man's choice, Lewie. You will be going out to
uncertainty and difficulty and extreme danger. On the other hand, I
believe in my soul it will harden you into the man you ought to be.
Lord knows I would rather have you stay at home!"
The younger man looked up for a second and saw something in Wratislaw's
face which made him turn away his eyes. The look of honest regret cut
him to the heart. Those friends of his, of whom he was in nowise
worthy, made the burden of his self-distrust doubly heavy.
"I will tell you within three days," he said hoarsely. "God bless you,
Tommy. I don't deserve to have a man like you troubling himself about
me."
It was his one spoken tribute to their friendship; and both, with the
nervousness of honest men in the presence of emotion, hastened to change
the subject.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE FURTHER BRINK
Wratislaw left betimes the next morning, and a long day faced Lewis with
every hour clamouring for a decision.
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