A Little Garrison Part 21

"The end of your tether?" retorted Leimann with agitation. "What do you mean by that? Do you mean in money matters?"

"You have guessed it. I must have money right now, a whole bagful of it, or else I'm done for."

"Is it as bad as all that? Have new complications arisen? Why, you told me the last time that you were out of your troubles just now."

"Yes, I did; but yesterday I made something of an investigation, and I found that there is no other way out my difficulties than by means of a gigantic loan. I should like, therefore, to speak openly to you about the matter, for I'm in hopes that there must be still ways and means to keep me above water."

Leimann lowered his eyes, looked fixedly at the pattern of the Turkish rug, and rubbed reflectively his unshaven chin. Then he replied with a shrug:

"How much is it?"

"Twelve thousand marks I must have, and not a penny less, for I'll have to make a clear track. I'm about badgered to death by these unceasing dunning letters and complaints in the courts."

"Hm, and how did you think you were going to manage this matter?"

"I have some more addresses of financial men, usurers, you know. If I could get you once more to go security for me, I think we ought to be able to attain our end."

"Security? Security? Yes, it is easy for you to talk that way, my dear boy; but finally there must be something in the background in order to a.s.sume responsibility for another's debts. I must tell you frankly that if you can't meet this payment of three thousand marks of last month, there will be the devil to pay for me, since I went bail for you."

"I do not think there is any need of your being so explicit; as a matter of course, I shall meet my obligations."

"I don't doubt it in the least; but for me it is indeed impossible to become security for you once more. Not only that, but I have to ask you to let me have some money, for I really do need some very badly."

"With the greatest of pleasure," said Borgert with a sinister smile; "but why don't you raise money on your 'commiss-fortune'?[19] That, it strikes me, would be the surest way of obtaining it."

[19] "Commiss-fortune"--the term applied to the dowry of an officer's wife, which must reach a certain figure.--TR.

"My 'commiss-fortune'? Very well put; but I'd have to have one in order to raise money on it."

"What have you been marrying on, then?" asked Borgert in amazement.

"I only had it four weeks in my hands, when it was returned to the party who had lent it for a consideration until I had obtained the official consent."

Borgert looked in consternation at his friend and then began to measure the room in nervous excitement.

"In that case," he began, after making several turns of the room, "I will make another proposition: I become surety for you, and you for me."

"Good," cried Leimann, joyfully; "but it is a somewhat ticklish business, for some time or other there is bound to come a crash, and then if neither of us has a penny there will be the deuce and all."

"That catastrophe will not happen, my most beloved friend, because if I can pull through once more there will be nothing to fear for me. I shall marry."

"By the eternal G.o.ds, but you have amazing courage! Only let me tell you, be careful in the choice of your father-in-law, otherwise it is a worse than useless arrangement. I myself can speak from experience."

"That is a matter of course; I shan't marry on empty promises. For less than half a million they cannot do business with me."

"Well, I wish you luck; but, come to think of it, how is it about Konig? Couldn't he be induced to come out with a few thousand marks?"

"I've thought of him, but it seems to me doubtful whether he can be got at. For, first of all, we would have to pay him the old score."

"All right; but we might make at least an attempt. He can't say more than 'no,' and I shall sit down at once and write a few lines to him."

Leimann took a chair at the desk and a sheet of letter-paper from one of the drawers.

Borgert sat down quietly in a corner, lit a cigarette, and blew its smoke into the slanting triangle of floating particles of dust which was formed by a ray of sunlight penetrating his window. The bluish wreaths of smoke formed fantastic bands, weaving and interweaving.

Now at last the letter was ended, and Leimann closed it, wrote the address on the outside, and Rose was told to take it immediately to its destination.

"That will pull his leg, I think, if anything will!" said Leimann, with a satisfied air, as he arose from his chair.

"What have you written him?" asked Borgert with some curiosity.

"Simply this,--that I needed money for a comrade and appealed therefore to his generous sentiments of friends.h.i.+p which he had so often proved. As a term for repayment I have indicated three months hence, and have pledged my word for the punctual refunding of the money; for you told me, you know, that you would have it here by that time."

"Most a.s.suredly I can. If the fellow will only give us the money now, everything else will be attended to at its proper time."

Thus they chatted on for another half hour, when Rose returned with his answer from Captain Konig.

Leimann quickly grasped the letter, but then he hesitated before opening it. Undecided, he scanned the address and looked questioningly at Borgert, who was still comfortably seated in his chair.

At last, however, impatience mastered him, and Leimann tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter.

With consternation he read again and again. Borgert saw from the face of his friend, who with eyebrows lifted and hands trembling with nervous excitement stood there a picture of disappointment, that Konig's answer had not brought joyful news. But he was more quiet and felt less disappointment than Leimann, although the whole matter concerned in the first place rather him than the latter. It was no longer new to him to receive denials to his letters requesting loans.

His face, though, a.s.sumed a wrathful expression when Leimann handed him silently Konig's response, and he began to read it. In his letter the captain said:

"I earnestly regret that I'm not able to comply with your wishes. On the one hand considerations for my family restrain me, for sums of such magnitude I could only advance if perfect security for their repayment were offered. But the only pledge _you_ offer me for punctual return of the money is your word of honor, and I am sorry to say I cannot look upon that as such an absolute security, since you as well as First Lieutenant Borgert have not yet refunded the divers amounts which I loaned you months ago, although you at the time pa.s.sed your word to me to see that the debt was paid promptly within ten days. Besides, it seems to me, that your financial condition, as far as I understand it, is not of a description to guarantee the keeping of a promise of that kind made to me."

Borgert rose from his chair and flung the letter aside in a rage. Then he stepped to the window and looked down into the street.

Neither of the two spoke a word; but as their glances met, Leimann remarked:

"Well, what do you say to this?"

"A piece of insolence, a vulgar bit of presumption it is on his part!"

Borgert broke out. "How the devil does this fellow dare, anyway, to concern himself with our private affairs? It would have been merely an unfriendly act and would have shown a deficient spirit of comrades.h.i.+p to send us a reply refusing our request, but to do so in this offensive manner! We cannot quietly submit to this."

"But what are you going to do about it?" retorted Leimann with a shrug. "If you openly take a stand against him, he has us by the throat if he merely states that we did not keep our pledged word, and we could not dispute that, for he can show it in black and white.

Therefore it will be best for us to pocket his rudeness and to cut the fellow; he will not fail to notice that."

"Apparently he has entirely forgotten that it would be an easy matter for us to break his neck. Did he not say himself at the time that he was going to take the amount in question from the squadron fund? I think we could make it very unpleasant for him if we were to use this fact against him."

"True," said Leimann, "but you could not in decency bring up the matter, since his touching those funds was done in our interest."

"I don't care. If he at present takes the liberty to throw impudent remarks in our faces, I will certainly show him that I'm in a condition to pay him back in the same coin."

"But you cannot possibly sign a formal accusation stating that Konig had lent you money obtained from the squadron fund. Do you not see that that would throw a curious light upon yourself?"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so clumsy as to do that. There are other ways in which the trick could be done, and I shall manage to let n.o.body suspect me as the author of the tale. But he will have to pay for this, you can take my word for that. D---- the ugly face of him, anyway!"