interrupted. "Clarke must have had
reason for believing he was about to make a big strike; he'd have kept
quiet until he was sure of it."

"'_The fellow's story was plausible,_'" Blake continued reading. "'_It
seems possible that you have been badly wronged; and I have been
troubled----_'" He omitted the next few lines, and went on: "'_After
giving the matter careful thought, I feel that the man may have hit
upon the truth. It would, of course, afford me the keenest
satisfaction to see you cleared, but the thing must be thoroughly
sifted, because----_'"

Blake stopped and added quietly:

"He insists on my going home."

"His difficulty is obvious," Benson remarked. "If you are blameless,
his son must be guilty."

Blake did not answer, but sat musing with a disturbed expression.
There was now no sign of the men with the bob-sled, and no sound
reached them from the plain above. Emile stood patiently waiting some
distance off, and though they were sheltered from the wind it was
bitterly cold.

"In some ways, it might be better if I went home at once," Blake said
at last. "I could come back and join you as soon as I saw how things
were going. The Colonel would feel easier if I were with him; but, all
the same, I'm inclined to stay away."

"Why?" Harding asked.

"For one thing, if I were there, he might insist on taking some quite
unnecessary course that would only cause trouble."

"I'm going to give you my opinion," said Harding curtly. "I take it
that your uncle is a man who tries to do the square thing?"

Blake's face relaxed and his eyes twinkled.

"He's what you call white, and as obstinate as they're made. Convince
him that a thing's right and he'll see it done, no matter how many
people it makes uncomfortable. That's why I don't see my way to
encourage him."

"Here's a man who's up against a point of honor; he has, I understand,
a long, clean record, and now he's prepared to take a course that may
cost him dear. Are you going to play a low-down game on him; to twist
the truth so's to give him a chance for deceiving himself?"

"Aren't you and Benson taking what you mean by the truth too much for
granted?"

Harding gave him a searching look.

"I haven't heard you deny it squarely; you're a poor liar. It's your
clear duty to go back to England right away, and see your uncle through
with the thing he means to do."

"After all, I'll go to England," Blake answered with significant
reserv