id softly from the edge of the table, and was
watching his friend's face as though for a signal. Norris Vine, long,
angular, unathletic, showed not the slightest signs of discomposure. He
was leaning back in his chair, gently twirling by its thin black ribbon
the horn-rimmed eyeglass which he usually wore.

"Mr. Vine," Weiss said, "whatever attitude we may take up afterwards,
there isn't the slightest need to play a part with you. We did sign that
document, and we have been kicking ourselves ever since for doing so. It
was Phineas Duge's idea, and we are fairly well convinced that he
pressed us for our signatures as subscribers to the fund, simply for the
purpose of having in his possession a document which might, if its
contents were known, cause us some inconvenience. Am I right in assuming
that he deceived us that night, that he himself never signed the paper?"

"His signature," Norris Vine answered, "certainly does not appear."

Weiss nodded.

"Just as I thought," he remarked. "There was every indication a few
weeks ago of what has actually happened, namely a split between us and
Phineas Duge. This document was the weapon with which he had hoped to
obtain the master-hand over us. Now, instead of finding it in his hands,
we find it in yours. What are you going to do about it?"

"I am going to use it," Vine answered. "I am going to use it to strike a
blow against the abominable system of robbery and corruption which is
ruining the finest of all God's countries."

"Very well," Weiss said, "I am not going to give away our defence, of
course. We may treat the document as a forgery, concocted by you or by
Phineas Duge, either of whom would have sufficient motives. We may
insist upon it that it was an after-dinner joke. We may contest the
meaning of the text, and swear that we intended to use none but
legitimate methods in this fight. Or, to put the whole matter before
you, we may use such powers as we possess to see that you are put out of
harm's way before you have an opportunity to make use of that paper. You
see we have alternatives. We are not absolutely without hope. Now I ask
you this, as man to man. The value of that document is, after all, a
matter of speculation to you. Put a price on it, and fight us with our
own dollars."

Norris Vine shook his head gently.

"I think not," he said. "If you gave me half your fortunes, we should
only come into the field level."

"We are not small men," Stephen Weiss sai