r, he restrained
himself, and waited for anything further that he had to say.
Presently he looked up.

"Well, is there anything I can still do for you?" he asked, in a
sneering tone. "Although your fate has been decided, and I know that
in less than a week you will be dead, I do not wish to deny you any
comfort that my camp can provide."

His words came short and sharp, and their tone was in no wise
calculated to bring any relief to George's pent-up feelings, but
rather aggravated them.

"If you have finished all you have to say," he said sternly, "I
shall be glad to return to my prison."

Arden laughed coarsely at Helmar's indifference, and yet, while the
smile was still on his lips, a look of anxiety came into his eyes as
the calm demeanour of his former friend struck a latent chord of
fear in his black heart. It passed, however, as quickly as it came,
and angry that even for one moment he should have feared this man,
he burst on him with a torrent of invective.

"Leave me at once," he cried, pointing to the door; "go back to your
kennel, you cur! If you stay here another minute I shall forget that
I said I would not be responsible for your sentence! Here, guards,
seize him and take him away!" He paused for a moment as the two
soldiers obeyed, and then in cooler tones gave one parting shot.
"When next we meet, Helmar, I shall pay my debts!"

"When next we meet, you can have no choice: you shall pay them in
full," rejoined Helmar quietly, as the guards marched him off.

George breathed more freely when he found himself once more out in
the brilliant sunlight. The atmosphere of that house had to him been
unbearable, the presence of the villain Arden had taxed his feelings
and temper to their utmost, and it was with a sense of intense
relief that he surveyed again the mud huts and the lazy soldiers
outside.

The bright, hot sun, the fresh, sweet air quickly restored his
mental balance, and he glanced at the many faces of the men lying
about as he slowly sauntered, under the escort of his guards,
towards his prison. He had not gone many paces when his attention
was attracted towards a man who, just as he came abreast of where he
was lying, turned over and grabbed at the air with his hand as
though to catch some flying insect. The fellow's action was so out
of keeping with the laziness of his attitude that Helmar glanced
more keenly at him, and was astonished to see him looking hard at
him. Immediately it flash