Without volition on his part he had
become an actor in this drama, this comedy, this tragedy,--whatever it
might prove to be; and he felt that it would be an act of cowardice upon
his part to leave before the play was ended. He was not in the least
religious in the sense of creed and dogma. In all his life he had
scarcely given a thought to religion. His knowledge of the Almighty by
name had been largely confined to that of a word to conjure with in
mastering an obstreperous bronco; but, in the broad sense of personal
cleanliness and individual duty, he was religious to the core. He would
not shirk a responsibility, and a responsibility faced him now.

Hour after hour he lay prone while his active brain suggested one course
after another, all, upon consideration, proving inadequate. Gradually
out of the chaos one fundamental fact became distinct in his mind. He
must know more of this man Clarence Sidwell before he could leave the
city, and this decision brought him to his feet. Under the
circumstances, a strategist might have employed others to gather
surreptitiously the information desired; but such was not the nature of
Benjamin Blair. One thing he had learned in dealing with his fellows,
which was that the most effective way to secure the thing one wished was
to go direct to the man who had it to give. In this case Sidwell was the
man. With a grim smile Ben remembered the invitation and the address he
had received the first night he was in town. He would avail himself of
both.

Night had fallen long ere this; when Ben arose the room was in darkness,
save for the reflected light which came through the heavily curtained
windows from the street lamps. He turned on an electric bulb and made a
hasty toilet. In doing so his eye fell upon the two big revolvers within
the drawer of the dresser; and the same impulse that had caused him to
bring them into this land of civilization made him thrust them into his
hip pockets. It was more habit than anything else, just as a man with a
dog friend feels vaguely uncomfortable unless his pet is with him. Blair
had the vigorously recurring appetite of a healthy animal, and it
suddenly occurred to him that he had not yet dined. Descending to the
street, he sought a _cafe_ and ate a hearty meal.

A half-hour later, the elevator boy of the Metropolitan Block, where
Sidwell had his quarters, was surprised, on answering the indicator, to
find a young man in an abnormally broad hat and fl