Light broke in upon the Butterfly Man. He gave an exclamation, and caught the boy's arm. "Bert! He hasn't got you, has he?"
"Yes, sir."
"Christopher!" After that one explosive outburst the man was silent. He seemed to be fighting down his wrath, bringing his mind back to its customary state of calm and disciplined control. He sat down beside the boy. Methodically he drew out the ever ready pipe and filled it with a deliberate measurement of tobacco from a pouch.
"When did you borrow the money?" he asked.
"Yesterday."
"You weren't afraid of Clud then. Why are you afraid of him now?"
Bert told of what he had seen at the farmhouse.
"That's Clud," Tom Woods said grimly. "It isn't the first time it's happened to people through here. How much did you borrow?"
"One hundred and fifty dollars."
"And you gave him a note for about $175. Is that right?"
Bert lifted his head and nodded, and looked at the man with mingled respect and surprise. "How did you know?"
"It's an old dodge," Tom Woods said. "Every skinflint of a loan shark practices it. That's how they beat the law which says that no interest above six per cent must be charged. On the face of that
