't be afraid I'll
break any more Commandments."

"Where's Barney now?" demanded Archie suspiciously.

"In jail in Buffalo, if you must know! They pinched him on an old case,
so you needn't blame me. I tell you I'm clear done with him. Love that
worm! He just gave me an excuse to let my blacksheep blood ripple a
little and it's all over now. And I'm sorry I played you for a sucker;
honest I am. You gave me a lot of money for a wedding present and as
the wedding doesn't count I'm going to give it back. You'll find it
tucked away in your collar-box in the top drawer of your bureau. I guess
that's about all, so you can trot back to the front of the house."

With a finality that closed discussion she fell energetically upon the
dishes, and he left her to join the Governor and Congdon. His
enlightenment as to the complexity of human nature was proceeding. Sally
was wonderful, astonishing, baffling. He did not question that this time
she had told him the truth. He was touched by her confession that her
escapade was merely an experiment to test her blood for inherited evil.
There was an enormous pathos in this; Sally needed help and guidance. He
would discuss the matter with the Governor the moment they had disposed
of their more urgent affairs.

III

At nine when Congdon announced his intention of going to bed Archie
assisted him as usual.

"This air's setting me up," said Putney, as Archie inspected the
crippled shoulder. "The doctor told me to begin exercising that arm as
soon as the soreness left it. How does the wound look?"

"Like a vaccination mark in the wrong place; that's all. You certainly
had a close call, old man. Only a few inches lower and it would have
pierced your heart."

In their hours together Archie had never been able to free his mind of
the disagreeable fact that he had so nearly killed Congdon; and he was
beset now by the thought that sooner or later he must confess his
culpability in the Bailey Harbor shooting. Congdon was accepting him at
face value, and the thing wasn't square. Every time he touched the
injured shoulder his conscience pricked him.

"I've got to tell Congdon I shot him and that he was in no way
responsible for Hoky's death," he announced determinedly to the
Governor, whom he found pacing the street in front of the hotel.

"Of course you'll tell him, but not yet. I'm mistaken in the man if he
acts ugly about it. The proper way to tell a man you've tried to kill
him and th