Look here, old man, I’ve done wrong. I admit it. I’ve done something that other men have done before me and it’s come out all right. At the time I thought the slump would only last a few days, and I thought I should be able to replace the bonds in a week. It’s the only slip I’ve made. Don’t be too hard on me.... [_With a break in his voice._] Have mercy as you hope in your turn to have mercy shown to you. Don’t ruin me for this one mistake. Let it mean something to you that I’m humiliating myself before you.... It wasn’t a crime. It was only thoughtlessness. Give me another chance. [JAMES FORD, _with his face between his hands, thinks it over. He is deeply moved by_ GEORGE WINTER’S _appeal_. GEORGE, _watching him keenly, thinks he is going to yield_. GEORGE WINTER. We’ve gone through bad times and good together. I’ve been a good friend to you. You’ve never had anything to reproach me with till now. JAMES FORD. [_Brokenly._] I can’t risk the money of all these poor people again. GEORGE WINTER. Will it satisfy you if I give up the directorship of the Middlepool Trust? Give me six months to save my face and I’ll resign. [JAMES FORD _looks up at him, wondering if he can put any trust in_ GEORGE WINTER. GEORGE _waits for the decision with beating heart_. _He feels almost sick with fear._ JAMES FORD. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If the bonds are in their place by four o’clock to-morrow I’ll say nothing. GEORGE WINTER. [_Astounded._] To-morrow? It can’t be done. It’s impossible. JAMES FORD. That’s all I can do for you. GEORGE WINTER. [_Hardly knowing what he is saying._] But no one could get it. You know it’s impossible. Even if you gave me a week I couldn’t do it. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. With the attack on us to-day we’re--we’re tottering. It’s as much as we shall be able to do to hold out till the tide turns. That’s not giving me a chance. Not a chance. To-morrow! It’s absurd! JAMES FORD. That’s my last word. GEORGE WINTER. You might as well send for the police at once. Oh, my God! It’s impossible. JAMES FORD. If the money is not there by the time the bank closes I shall apply for a warrant. GEORGE WINTER. D’you know what that means? It means a trial, and then--and then prison. JAMES FORD. I can’t do more for you than I’ve offered. [_The finality of this, the deep regret and the decision in_ FORD’S _tone, are like a blow in the face to_ GEORGE WINTER. _He gives a sudden start, and throwing off his humbleness, flies into ungovernable passion. He whips himself into a rage as he flings the scornful invective at_ JAMES FORD _and ends up on the last words in a positive scream of fury_. GEORGE WINTER.