d with a gesture.

"Eh, God! Five thousand dollars! A fortune, indeed! Think of it! Heaven
knows I am not a Cr[oe]sus, and yet--I might increase even that a
little. What do you say? Six thousand, then, all cash?"

"This is the money you stole from Emile, I believe," said Van Dam. "You
could afford even more--"

"Seven thousand five hundred!" chattered Alfred. "Not another cent, or I
shall do it myself."

"Good! You do it!" Roly exclaimed; whereat the tempter writhed and
shivered in an ague of fear. With a wail that came like a sob and with a
final wrench of his miserly soul, he exclaimed:

"Wait, then! I will pay you ten thousand dollars if you kill him. The
money is there. It will bankrupt me; but--God above! Ten thousand
dollars! It is scarcely worth it--such a little job!"

"How do I know you'd make good?" inquired the young man. "You robbed
him. You might rob me."

"I have promised! It is there--in the safe. The moment he is dead--"

"Bah!" Mr. Van Dam managed a mocking laugh, although his heart was
pounding. "Your word is worth nothing to me."

Alfred made answer by slipping across the room and kneeling before the
steel safe. He spun the knob swiftly to right and to left, then gave a
wrench, and the massive door opened.

"Come here!"

Van Dam obeyed.

"Look!"

He saw legal documents, deeds, mortgages, and blue envelopes, all neatly
marked, then a cash-drawer crowded full of symmetrical packages of
crisp, new ten-dollar bills, each with its bank band plainly labeled
"$1000."

"Eh? Are you satisfied?" The owner was staring craftily up at him,
careful to keep his body between Van Dam and the treasure.

"Jove!" Roly exclaimed in astonishment. "You'll be robbed some night."

"Is it a bargain?"

"I'm no business man." The masker hesitated with an air of extreme
suspicion. "Will you pay in advance?"

At this, Cousin Alfred uttered a bleat of dismay, but Roly was firm.

"I'm not sure you'd open the safe again, don't you see? Besides, it
would take time, and--I'd prefer not to wait; really I would, for I'm
always a bit nervous after a job of this kind."

"Listen, then," exclaimed the old man. "I will close the safe, but I
will leave the combination off. See! We must each run some risk in this
matter, I suppose; but--I trust you. Once it is over, there will be no
delay. A moment and you can be away with ten thousand dollars in your
pocket--and with me to do the explaining."

Why he had allowed the