n the path to the gate, entered the
house, and found Miss Sally still sitting in the dark parlor where she
had had the painful interview with Eliph' Hewlitt. She still held her
handkerchief to her eyes, for she had been weeping, and the attorney was
not sorry to see this evidence of the stress of her interview with the
book agent. Certain that Eliph' had told Doc Weaver of the lung-testers,
he was no less certain that the book agent had been telling Miss Sally
that the nickel-plated affairs would be thrown back on her hands, and he
hastened to urge resistance.

"Miss Briggs," he said, "I came right in, because I knew what that book
agent was here to say to you, and I wanted to warn you against him. I
know what he asked, and I hope you refuse him."

Miss Sally gasped.

"I believe," continued the attorney, taking a seat, "that you refused,
because you know which side your bread is buttered on. I believe that
before the day is over Colonel Guthrie will come with the same question,
and I want you to give him the same answer. And if Skinner should come
on his knees, I want you to send him away with the same answer, too.
They will all have arguments enough, but don't be fooled. They money is
all they want."

Miss Sally gasped again. She was astounded.

"I could see," said the attorney, confidentially, "that you have the
book agent a pretty sharp answer, and that was right. He had no business
to put himself forward at all, and I don't suppose you can guess why he
did."

"He said he liked me," said Miss Sally weakly, ashamed to mention the
word openly. The attorney laughed.

"My opinion is that it is an conspiracy," he said. "That is just the
word, a conspiracy, and T. J. Jones is at the head of it. The book agent
has come first; now the Colonel will come; and then Skinner, all asking
the same thing, but my idea is that they are all in partnership, and
that Jones is engineering the whole thing. They want your money, and
that is all they want, and once they get it they will be happy and you
will be left with four lung-testers on your hands."

Even in Kilo slang comes and goes as in the rest of the world and Miss
Sally was not sure about the word "lung-tester." It had a slangy sound,
and it must be a term of reproach applied to the future value of the
four men Toole had mentioned. She accepted it as such.

"All I have to say," continued the attorney, "is to refuse the Colonel,
and to refuse Skinner if he comes, just as