ssion is built. A while ago you spoke of the
extremely aged as possible victims of my theories. I suppose you meant to
ask me if I would include them in my list. God forbid! To me there is
nothing more beautiful than a happy, healthy, contented old age. We love
our old people. If we love them we do not think of them as old. We want
them to live,--just as I shall want to live, and you, Simmy. And we want
them to die when their time comes, by God's hand not man's, for God does
give them a peaceful, glorious end. But we don't want them to suffer, any
more than we would want the young to suffer, I loved my grandfather. Death
was a great boon to him. He wanted to die. But all old men do not want to
die. They--"

"We're not getting anywhere with this kind of talk," interrupted Simmy.
"The sum and substance is this: you would put it in the power of a few men
to destroy human life on the representation of a few doctors. If these
doctors said--"

"And why not? We put it into the power of twelve men to send a man to the
gallows on the testimony of witnesses who may be lying like thieves. We
take the testimony of doctors as experts in our big murder trials. If we
believe some of them we hang the man because they say he is sane. On the
other hand we frequently acquit the guilty man if they say he's insane."

Simmy squinted a half-closed eye, calculatingly, judicially. "My dear
fellow, the insane asylums in this country to-day hold any number of
reasonably sane inmates, sent there by commissions which perhaps
unintentionally followed out the plans of designing persons who were
actuated solely by selfish and avaricious motives. Control of great
properties falls into the hands of conspiring relatives simply because it
happened to be an easy matter to get some one snugly into a madhouse." He
said no more. Braden was allowed to draw his own conclusions.

"Oh, I dare say people will go on putting obstacles out of their way till
the end of time," said he coolly. "If I covet your wife or your ass or
your money-bags I put poison in your tea and you very obligingly die, and
all that the law can do is to send me after you as soon as the lawyers
have got through with me. That is no argument, Simmy. That sort of thing
will go on forever."

Finally Thorpe settled back in his chair resignedly, worn out by the
persistent argument of his tormentor.

"Well, suppose that I agree with all you say,--what then? Suppose that I
take up my burden, as