The words recorded in the latter clause of the third chapter were slowly uttered by Wilse Reed. Mr. Sowers stopped still. He had no idea Wilse was following. As he turned his head in the direction from which Wilse Reed’s voice proceeded, he said in a trembling voice: ÷ “Oh Wilse, Oh Wilse, have you no heart? Don’t you know mercy? Didn’t you hear that unearthly shriek coming from the direction of my house? How much money do you want? For heaven’s sake, don’t keep me here if you have any heart at all.”

Wilse looked at him for some time before he spoke; then he said peremptorily:

“I can answer all of your questions better when we are seated under the ledge, so come on, Sowers, come on, I say.” Sowers saw it was no use to argue. The case for argument was [a] no go with a desperate man like Wilse Reed. They went back to the ledge, and after they were seated, Wilse Reed said in a low voice:

“Now, Josh, I’ll answer your questions. In the first place, I lost my heart when I first entered into that fiendish plot of yours. In the second place, I don’t know mercy or I should have exposed you and done justice to—well you know who. In the third place, I did hear that unearthly shriek, but what is that to me? I don’t care who it is or if the[y] die before you reach the house, do you hear that? In the fourth place, you asked me how much money I wanted. Well, you gave me one hundred dollars. I want another hundred and that quick too, so out with it.”

Sowers could say nothing but pull out his purse and in the dim moonlight count out one hundred dollars. This done, he handed it to Wilse, who grabbed it eagerly. Sowers looked ghastly pale as he sat there. He was doing this for revenge, or at least he had done this something years ago for revenge. Now he was reaping the bitter fruits of his revenge. Who was the most avenged, him [sic] or his adversary? The great one who had said, “Vengeance is mine,” had not changed his laws, therefore those who do an evil deed for revenge, or [for] compensation for an evil deed that has been done to them, they must be avenged the most in the end. So it was with Sowers. What he had done was to avenge an innocent person whom he said proved untrue.

Wilse was silent for some time. Then he said:

“Well, Mr. Sowers, you had as well go now as we have concluded our little business. Good-night.”

Mr. Sowers was about to rise to go when he heard some person or persons coming down the road. He and Wilse quickly ensconced themselves in the shadow of the ledge. Presently the persons went past the ledge talking cautiously. Sowers recognized their voices to be that [sic] of Jack, George, and Aunt Sally. He was going to ask them where they were going, but Wilse interposed.

“Why Wilse, perhaps they have killed their mistresses,” said Sowers anxiously. “And the[y] may be running away to escape the punishment of the law. Let me go after them, Wilse.”

And Sowers looked pleadingly in Wilse Reed’s face, but ah, Wilse Reed’s face was as calm and imperturbable as ever.

“No Josh, I say no, and when I say no I mean no. You have escaped the punishment of the law for a long time. It is no small thing for a man to rob the—” He didn’t finish his

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money—wanted to be paid well for his work.

“Well, Wilse, you said a while ago you would peach^[1] if I doubted your word. Now I defy you. You want my money to help you carry out your threats. Since I’ve heard that, I’ll not give you one cent either to defray your expenses or anything else. Do you hear that?”

Wilse didn’t answer immediately, but his thoughts were—

“Oh, if I were not bound—if I was only free I would bring him down so low his dogs wouldn’t make friends with him. But alas! Alas! I am bound by fetters. She has me in her power. I’ll do something desperate to what I’ll [sic] get out of her power.” He paused awhile and then said, “Well, Sowers, I’ll not hunt up those parties, but I’ll scandalize you and yours so that no one will notice you.”

Wilse Reed’s last words nettled Mr. Sowers. He rose from his chair and said, his voice stern:

“Wilson Reed, I order you to leave my house forever, you low-lifed scoundrel. I wish I had never given you the money I gave you tonight, you dirty villainous scoundrel!”

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