red his
light so that it no longer pointed in Tom's face.

"Well, I have reasons. Assuming that you did come here to meet a
certain Ray Blake, what do you want of him?"

"I'm not going to tell you--how did you know I wanted to see Ray?"
stammered the ragged man, hastily correcting himself.

"He told me so," replied Tom frankly. "Now I want you to let him alone
after this. You've done him harm enough, and you have done much to
ruin his life. I want you to promise not to make any more attempts to
force him to lead the kind of a life you're leading."

"S'posin' I won't?"

"Then I'll make you!"

"You'll make me? Come, that's pretty good! That's rich, that is! Ha!
You'll make me, young feller? Why it'll take more'n you to make me do
what I don't want to do."

"I fancy not," said Tom easily, and with a cautious movement he
advanced a step nearer the tramp. The latter did not appear to notice
it.

"Well, what else do you want?" asked the ragged fellow. "That's not
sayin' I'm goin' to do what you asked me first, though," he sneered.
His light was now flickering about on the rain-soaked ground, making
little rings of illumination.

"Will you tell me how you got that scar on your cheek?" asked Tom
suddenly.

Involuntarily the man's hand went to the evidence of the old wound. Up
flashed the light into Tom's face again, and as it was held up there
came this sharp question, asked with every evidence of fear:

"What--what do you know about that?"

"I know more than you think I do," said Tom, still speaking with a
confidence he did not feel. Again he took a cautious step forward. He
was now almost within leaping distance of the tramp.

"Well then, if you know so much there's no need of me telling you,"
sneered the ragged man. "I've had enough of this," he went on,
speaking roughly. "I don't see why I should waste time talking to you
in this confounded rain. I'm going to leave."

"Not until you answer me one more question," said Tom firmly, and he
gathered himself together for that which he knew must follow.

"Seems to me you're mighty fond of askin' questions," sneered the
tramp, "an' you don't take the most comfortable places to do it in.
Well, fire ahead, and I'll answer if I like."

Tom paused a moment. He looked about in the surrounding blackness, as
if to note whether help was at hand, or perhaps to discover if the
person he had come out to meet was near. But, there was no movement.
There w