fied approval, but a loquacious little
gentleman across the table felt called upon to protest.

"But, my dear Miss Farnham, would you have us all turn thief-catchers
for the mere honor of the thing?"

"For the love of justice, or not at all, I should say," was the
straightforward return blow. "If I should see somebody picking your
pocket, ought I to weigh the chances of your offering a reward before
telling you of it?"

"Oh, no; of course not. But this is entirely different. A rich
corporation has been robbed, and it says to the thief-catchers--and to
everybody, for that matter--Here are ten thousand dollars if you will
find us the robber. For myself, I confess that the reward would be the
determining factor. If I knew where Mr. Galbraith's 'hold-up' is to be
found, I should certainly go out of my way to earn the money."

Miss Farnham's sense of the fitness of things was plainly affronted.

"Do you mean to say that you would accept the reward, Mr. Latrobe?"

"Most certainly I should; any one would."

The frank avowal stood for public opinion. Charlotte knew it and went
dumb in the presence of a new and more terrible phase of her
entanglement. She might call the reward blood money, and refuse
absolutely to touch it, but who, outside of her own little circle, would
know or believe that she had refused? And if all the remainder of the
world knew and should exonerate her, would not the wretched man himself
always believe that she had sold him for a price?

The benumbing thought left her tongue-tied and miserable; and after the
table-dispersal she sought out the captain to ask a question.

"Do you know the law in Louisiana, Captain Mayfield?" she began, with
more embarrassment than the simple inquiry would account for. "This man
who robbed the Bayou State Security yesterday; what is the penalty for
his crime?"

The captain shook his head. "I don't know: being only a riverman, I'm
not even a sea-lawyer. But maybe Mr. Latrobe could tell you. _Oh_, Mr.
Latrobe!"

The loquacious one was on his way forward to smoke, but he turned and
came back at the captain's call.

"The penalty?" he said, when the query had been repeated to him; "that
would depend upon a good many things that could only be brought out at
the trial. But under the circumstances--threatening to shoot the
president, and all that, you know--I should say it would go pretty hard
with him. He'll probably get the full limit of the law."

"And that is?" p