put this thing over if you don't pull yourself together? I
might as well have a baby to help me," sneered the gruff voice.

"Don't be so hard on me, Alf," whined his comrade. "I ain't done
nothin'. Ain't I right here and ready?"

"You're here, all right," snarled the first speaker, "but whether
you're ready or not is another matter. Now I'm going to give you a last
chance to pull out. Do you want to go ahead or don't you? It's no good
for us to be laying plans if you are going to be weak-kneed at the end
and balk at carrying them out. Do you mean to stand by me and see this
thing to a finish or don't you?"

"I--sure I do!"

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart!" This time the words echoed with more positiveness.

"You're not going to back out or squeal?" his pal persisted.

"Why, Alf, how can you----"

"Because I've got to be sure before I stir another inch."

"But ain't I told you over and over again that I----"

"I don't trust you."

"What makes you so hard on a feller, Alf?" whimpered Cronin. "I haven't
been mixed up in as many of these jobs as you have and is it surprising
that I'm a mite nervous? It's no sign that I'm crawling."

"You're ready to stick it out, then?"

"Sure!"

There was another pause.

"Well, let me just tell you this, Jim Cronin. If you swear to stand by
me and don't do it, your miserable life won't be worth a
farthing--understand? I'll wring your neck, wring it good and thorough.
I'm not afraid to do it and I will. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes."

The terror-stricken monosyllable made it perfectly apparent that Cronin
did know.

"Then suppose we get down to hard tacks," asserted his companion, the
note of fierceness suddenly dying out of his tone. "Come and sit down
and we'll plan the thing from start to finish. We may as well be
comfortable while we talk. There's no extra charge for sitting."

As Ted bent to put his ear to the crack of the door, the thud of a
heavy body jarred the shack.

"Jove!" he heard Cronin cry. "The ground is some way down, ain't it?"

"And it's none to soft at that," came grimly from his comrade, as a
second person slumped upon the planks outside.

Somebody drew a long breath and while the men were making themselves
more comfortable on the float Ted waited expectantly in the darkness.

CHAPTER XIII

WHAT TED HEARD

"Now the question is which way are we going to get the biggest results,"
Alf began, when they were both comfortably