dge fires
of hell. Start? There is no start. But there's a sure finish."

"You mean if he don't quit he'll go right down and out?"

Bill came to a halt directly in front of his friend. His keen eyes
gazed straight into the strong face confronting him.

"No, I don't mean that. It's worse," he said, with a gravity quite
changed from his recent agitated manner.

"Worse?" Kars' question came sharply. "Go on."

"Oh, I did all you said that night. I got a holt on him next day at
the Gridiron, where he's stopping. He told me to go to a certain hot
place and mind my own business, which was doping out drugs. I went to
Murray, and he served me little better. He grinned. He always grins.
He threw hot air about a youngster and wild oats. He guessed the kid
would sober up after a fling. They'd figgered on this play. His
mother, and Jose, and him. They guessed it was best. Then he was
going to get around back and act the man his father was on the trail.
That was his talk. And he grinned--only grinned when I guessed he was
five sorts of darned fool."

Bill paused. It might almost have been that he paused for breath after
the speed at which his words came. Kars waited with deliberate
patience, but his jaws were set hard.

"But now--now?" The doctor passed a hand across his broad forehead and
smoothed his iron gray hair. He turned his eyes thoughtfully upon the
window through which they beheld the white and gold of the Elysian
Fields. "The worst thing's happened. It's in the mouth of every one
in Leaping Horse. It's the scream of every faro joint and 'draw'
table. The fellers on the sidewalk have got the laugh of it. Maude's
got dopey on him. She's plumb stuck on him. The dame Pap's spilt
thousands on has gone back on him for a fool boy she was there to roll.
Things are seething under the surface, and it's the sort of atmosphere
Pap mostly lives in. He's crazy mad. And when Pap's crazy, things are
going to happen. There's just one end coming. Only one end. That
boy's going to get done up, and Pap's to be all in at the doing. Oh,
he'll take no chances. There'll be no shriek. That kid'll peter right
out sudden. And it'll be Pap who knows how."

"Murray's in the city. Have you seen him?" Kars spoke coldly.

"I saw him yesterday noon. I went to Adler's at lunch time to be sure
getting him."

"What did he say?"

"I scared him. Plumb scared him. But it was the same grin. Gee, how
that