nctly, and it said, "A madman never forgets!" It was the voice of
a great alienist, a good friend of his, with whom he had discussed the
sanity of a man whose crime had shocked the country. He knew that the
words were true. Once possessed by an idea the madman will not forget
it. It becomes an obsession with him--a part of his existence. In his
warped brain a suspicion never dies. A fear will smolder everlastingly.
A hatred lives steadily on.

If Bram Johnson was mad would he play the game as he was playing it
now! He had almost killed Philip for possession of the food, that the
girl might have the last crumb of it. Now, without a sign of the
madman's caution, he had left it all within his reach again. A dozen
times the flaming suspicion in his eyes had been replaced by a calm and
stupid indifference. Was the suspicion real and the stupidity a clever
dissimulation? And if dissimulation--why?

He was positive now that Bram had not harmed the girl in the way he had
dreaded. Physical desire had played no part in the wolf-man's
possession of her. Celie had made him understand that;--and yet in
Bram's eyes he had caught a look now and then that was like the dumb
worship of a beast. Only once had that look been anything
different--and that was when Celie had given him a tress of her hair.
Even the suspicion roused in him then was gone now, for if passion and
desire were smoldering in the wolf-man's breast he would not have
brought a possible rival to the cabin, nor would he have left them
alone together.

His mind worked swiftly as he stared unseeing out into the corral. He
would no longer play the part of a pawn. Thus far Bram had held the
whip hand. Now he would take it from him no matter what mysterious
protestation the girl might make! The wolf-man had given him a dozen
opportunities to deliver the blow that would make him a prisoner. He
would not miss the next.

He faced Celie with the gleam of this determination in his eyes. She
had been watching him intently and he believed that she had guessed a
part of his thoughts. His first business was to take advantage of
Brain's absence to search the cabin. He tried to make Celie understand
what his intentions were as he began.

"You may have done this yourself," he told her. "No doubt you have.
There probably isn't a corner you haven't looked into. But I have a
hunch I may find something you missed--something interesting."

She followed him closely. He began at each wall