“Well,” said Claparon, “they are not in general circulation; they are in the hands of a man with whom I do a great deal of business,—­Pere Bidault.  That is why I affixed the words ‘not guaranteed.’  If the notes were intended for circulation you would have made them payable to his order.  Monsieur Lebas will understand my position.  What do these notes represent?  The price of landed property.  Paid by whom?  By Birotteau.  Why should I guarantee Birotteau by my signature?  We are to pay, each on his own account, our half of the price of the said land.  Now, it is enough to be jointly and separately liable to the sellers.  I hold inflexibly to one commercial rule:  I never give my guarantee uselessly, any more than I give my receipt for moneys not yet paid.  He who signs, pays.  I don’t wish to be liable to pay three times.”

“Three times!” said Cesar.

“Yes, monsieur,” said Claparon, “I have already guaranteed Birotteau to the sellers, why should I guarantee him again to the bankers?  The circumstances in which we are placed are very hard.  Roguin has carried off a hundred thousand francs of mine; therefore, my half of the property costs me five hundred thousand francs instead of four hundred thousand.  Roguin has also carried off two hundred and forty thousand francs of Birotteau’s.  What would you do in my place, Monsieur Lebas?  Stand in my skin for a moment and view the case.  Give me your attention.  Say that we are engaged in a transaction on equal shares; you provide the money for your share, I give bills for mine; I offer them to you, and you undertake, purely out of kindness, to convert them into money.  You learn that I, Claparon,—­banker, rich, respected (I accept all the virtues under the sun),—­that the virtuous Claparon is on the verge of failure, with six million of liabilities to meet:  would you, at such a moment, give your signature to guarantee mine?  Of course not; you would be mad to do it.  Well, Monsieur Lebas, Birotteau is in the position which I have supposed for Claparon.  Don’t you see that if I endorse for him I am liable not only for my own share of the purchase, but I shall also be compelled to reimburse to the full amount of Birotteau’s paper, and without—­”

“To whom?” asked Birotteau, interrupting him.

“—­without gaining his half of the property?” said Claparon, paying no attention to the interruption.  “For I should have no rights in it; I should have to buy it over again; consequently, I repeat, I should have to pay for it three times.”

“Reimburse whom?” persisted Birotteau.

“Why, the holder of the notes, if I were to endorse, and you were to fail.”

“I shall not fail, monsieur,” said Birotteau.

“Very good,” said Claparon.  “But you have been a judge, and you are a clever merchant; you know very well that we should look ahead and foresee everything; you can’t be surprised that I should attend to my business properly.”