ll, sir," she said. "But let me talk to this man alone. Perhaps
common sense and kindness will prevail where violence did not. I
sincerely hope so."

"I am willing to let you talk to him, but you are to be guarded in your
speech. Tell him nothing about the real affair; we want to be sure of
him before we take him fully into our confidence. All we wish him to do
is to keep us informed about Prale and Jim Farland, and any others who
may be helping Prale."

"I understand, and I am not quite a fool!" Kate Gilbert told him, still
angry.

The masked man motioned the two thugs out of the room, and then followed
them, closing the door behind him. Kate Gilbert sat down in the chair
before the sofa, and looked at Murk.

"First, I want you to know that I had nothing to do with the blow you
received," she said. "That was going a bit too far. I knew nothing of it
until I received a telephone message saying that you were spying on the
place where I live, and that you had been captured and brought here."

"I understand that, lady," Murk replied.

"I know that you have been with Mr. Prale only a few days. If he were in
your place now, I might be inclined to turn my back and let those men
handle him. But you are not to be blamed for the faults of your
employer."

"No, ma'am," said Murk.

"I am going to tell you only this much: Sidney Prale committed a great
wrong against several persons. Those persons have banded together to
have vengeance. Sidney Prale deserves everything that can happen to
him."

"I think you've got him wrong, ma'am," said Murk. "He's even accused of
murder, and I know he ain't guilty."

"Neither do I believe that he is guilty of that crime, but that has
nothing to do with this other affair. The persons who are banded
together against Sidney Prale have nothing to do with the murder charge,
I am sure."

"I reckon he'll be glad to know that. But you've got him wrong in this
other thing, lady. Mr. Prale is worried almost to death because he don't
know who his enemies are, or why they are causin' him a lot of trouble."

"He has led you to believe that?" she asked.

"I know he's tellin' the truth, ma'am. He's got a detective workin'
tryin' to find out what it all means."

"Then he is fooling you, and the detective also. Sidney Prale knows who
his enemies are, and why they are troubling him. He tried to tell me
that he did not know, and almost in the same breath he told me something
that convinced me he d