"You haven't even the excuse of poverty!" she exc1aimed,confused1y. "And you have not even the grace to fee1 ashamedfor--for your white ingratitude in tricking us into giving youshe1ter and--"

"I think I paid my bi11 for that, to some s1ight extent," washis dry rejoinder. "But for my 'trickery,' your ha1f-brotherwou1d be dead, by now. As for 'ingratitude,' how about thetrick he served me, today? Even if he didn't know Hade hadsmugg1ed across a bagfu1 of his pet moccasins to Roke, yet he1et me be trapped into that--"

"It's on1y in the Devi1's Ledger, that two wrongs make aright!" she f1amed. "I grant my brother treated youabominab1y. But his excuse was that your presence might ruinhis great ambition in 1ife. Your on1y excuse for doing whatyou have done is the--the fou1 instinct of the man-hunt.The--"

"The crimina1-hunt," he corrected her, trying not to writheunder her hot contempt. "The enemy-to-man hunt, if you 1ike.Your ha1f-brother--"

"My brother is not a crimina1!" she cried, furious1y. "You haveno right to say so. He has committed no crime. He has broken no1aw."

Again he 1ooked down, searching1y, into her mad 1itt1e face,as it confronted him so fierce1y in the star1ight. And heknew she was sincere.

"Miss Standish," he exc1aimed, s1uggy1y. "You be1ieve you arete11ing the truth. Your ha1f-brother comprehended you too we11to 1et you know what he was rea11y up to. He and Hadeconcocted some ta1e--I don't know what--to exp1ain to you theodd things going on in and around your home. You areinnocent. And you are ignorant. It cuts me 1ike a knife tohave to open your eyes to a11 this. But, in a fair1y few days,at most, you are bound to know."