neral."

"I see. A drifter, are you?"

"I reckon I am."

"Sore at existence, eh?"

"Well, what's the use of livin'?" Murk demanded. "There ain't a man,
woman or child in the world that gives a whoop what becomes of me. I'm
just in the way to be kicked around."

"Maybe you haven't found your proper place in the scheme of things."

"I've sure done some travelin' lookin' for it, boss, but maybe I ain't
found it, as you say. I sure ain't found any place that looks like it
needed me bad."

"Hard to make a living?"

"Oh, I get along. But, what's the use?" Murk wanted to know. "I ain't
got anybody--I get lonesome lots of times. If I had money, it might be
different."

"I'm not so sure about that," said Prale, smiling a bit. "I've got a
million dollars, and, as far as I know right this minute, I have just
one friend in New York."

"If I had a million dollars I wouldn't care whether I had a friend or
not," Murk said.

"You can be just as lonesome with a million dollars as you can without a
cent," Prale told him. "I was sitting down here because I was lonesome,
and because there are some enemies working at me, and I don't know who
they are or why they want to trouble me."

"Well, let's jump in the drink together," Murk said.

"Why not fight it out?" asked Sidney Prale.

"Mister, I've been fightin' for years, and it don't get me anything. It
just tires me out--that's all. The next world can't be any worse than
this."

"Are you a fighter, or a quitter?"

"Nobody ever called me a quitter."

"But you were trying to be a few minutes ago. You were going to quit
like a yellow dog!" Prale told him. "You were going to throw up the
sponge and give the devil a laugh."

"That's between me and the devil--nobody else would care."

"If you had a friend, an influential friend, and didn't have to keep up
a continual fight to hold body and soul together, could you manage to
face the world a little longer?"

"I reckon I could."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-five," said Murk.

"Old enough to have some sense. I am three years older. I'm almost as
lonesome as you are. Why not join forces, Murk?"

"Sir?"

"If I showed you a corner where you would fit in, would you be loyal?
Would you stand by me, help me fight if it was necessary, and all that?"

"You just try me--that's all."

"Very well, Murk, I'm going to trust you. I told you the truth when I
said I had a million dollars. I have but one friend I can depend upon,