nting to the offending
headlines.

Bill frowned.

"Substantially correct," he answered coolly.

"Bill, how could you?" she cried. "It's simply disgraceful. Brawling
in public like any saloon loafer, and getting in jail and all. Haven't
you any consideration for me--any pride?"

His eyes narrowed with an angry glint.

"Yes," he said deliberately. "I have. Pride in my word as a man. A
sort of pride that won't allow any bunch of lily-fingered crooks to
make me a party to any dirty deal. I don't propose to get the worst of
it in that way. I won't allow myself to be tarred with their stick."

"But they're not trying to give you the worst of it," she burst out.
Visions of utter humiliation arose to confront and madden her. "You've
insulted and abused our best friends--to say nothing of giving us all
the benefit of newspaper scandal. We'll be notorious!"

"Best friends? God save the mark!" he snorted contemptuously. "Our
best friends, as you please to call them, are crooks, thieves, and
liars. They're rotten. They stink with their moral rottenness. And
they have the gall to call it good business."

"Just because their business methods don't agree with your peculiar
ideas is no reason why you should call names," she flared. "Mr. Brooks
called just after you left at noon. _He_ told me something about this,
and assured me that you would find yourself mistaken if you'd only take
pains to think it over. I don't believe such men as they are would
stoop to anything crooked. Even if the opportunity offered, they have
too much at stake in this community. They couldn't afford to be
crooked."

"So Brooks came around to talk it over with you, eh?" Bill sneered.
"Told you it was all on the square, did he? Explained it all very
plausibly, I suppose. Probably suggested that you try smoothing me
down, too. It would be like 'em."

"He did explain about this stock-selling business," Hazel replied
defensively. "And I can't see why you find it necessary to make a
fuss. I don't see where the cheating and crookedness comes in.
Everybody who buys stock gets their money's worth, don't they? But I
don't care anything about your old mining deal. It's this fighting and
quarreling with people who are not used to that sort of brute
action--and the horrid things they'll say and think about us."

"About you, you mean--as the wife of such a boor--that's what's rubbing
you raw," Bill flung out passionately. "You're ac