emed to mingle in the sick man's staring
eyes, and he swayed unsteadily upon his feet.

"I'm innocent!" he screamed out. "But I'm caught, I'm caught in a net,
and I can't get out--they lied to you--but no one will believe it any
more than you do and--and it means twenty years for me--oh, God!--twenty
years, and--" His hands went wriggling to his temples again, and he
toppled back in a faint into the chair.

"You've killed him! You've killed my boy!" the old lady shrieked out
piteously, and flung herself toward the senseless figure.

The man jumped for the table across the room, on which was a row of
bottles, snatched one up, drew the cork, smelled it, and ran back with
the bottle. He poured a little of the contents into his cupped hand,
held it under young Matthews' nostrils, and pushed the bottle into Mrs.
Matthews' hands.

"Bathe his forehead with this, Mrs. Matthews," he directed reassuringly.
"He'll be all right again in a moment. There, see--he's coming around
now."

There was a long, fluttering sigh, and Matthews opened his eyes; then
a moment's silence; and then he spoke, with an effort, with long pauses
between the words:

"Am--I--to--go--now?"

The words seemed to ring absolute terror in the old lady's ears. She
turned, and dropped to her knees on the floor.

"Mr. Kline, Mr. Kline," she sobbed out, "oh, for God's love, don't take
him! Let him off, let him go! He's my boy--all I've got! You've got
a mother, haven't you? You know--" The tears were streaming down the
sweet, old face again. "Oh, won't you, for God's dear name, won't you
let him go? Won't--"

"Stop!" the man cried huskily. He was mopping at his face with his
handkerchief. "I thought I was case-hardened, I ought to be--but I guess
I'm not. But I've got to do my duty. You're only making it worse for
Sammy there, as well as me."

Her arms were around his knees now, clinging there.

"Why can't you let him off!" she pleaded hysterically. "Why can't
you! Why can't you! Nobody would know, and I'd do anything--I'd pay
anything--anything--I'll give you ten--fifteen thousand dollars!"

"My poor woman," he said kindly, placing his hand on her head, "you are
talking wildly. Apart altogether from the question of duty, even if
I succeeded in hushing the matter up, I would probably at least be
suspected and certainly discharged, and I have a family to support--and
if I were caught I'd get ten years in the Federal prison for it. I'm
sorry for this;