, so that her father should not see
that she was blushing. The thought, not in the least disagreeable, had
occurred to her for the first time, that perhaps Mr. Harry West himself
was anonymously going down into his pocket for her sweet sake.

XVI

The legless man was not in the habit of waiting for things that he
wanted, when the chance to take them had come. And he did not propose to
endure the torture of sitting perfectly still hour after hour, morning
after morning, while any young woman made a bust of him. Yet he allowed
a number of mornings to pass without taking any definite steps toward
the vengeance which he felt to be so dear to him.

That Barbara was a high-born lady was the chief obstacle in his plans.
If she were to disappear suddenly out of the world which knew and loved
her, there would be raised a hue and outcry greater, perhaps, than his
utmost powers and resources could check. He would be run to earth
without much doubt and put where even the sweet memory of vengeance
would taste bitter in his mouth. It is perhaps pleasant to pluck the
fruits of vengeance, but a man requires time in which to eat and digest
them. If they are snatched from his hand the moment they are picked, his
vengeance fails of all sweetness and justification.

On the other hand, Blizzard, in order to revenge himself on the man who
had maimed him, was willing to give, if not his liberty, his life.

If he could not abduct Barbara and go free, he would kill himself when
they came to take him. But he did not wish to kill himself. He wished to
live a long time after, gloating on his memories. He had also on foot a
scheme which, starting almost as a pleasantry, had developed in his
mind, and was still developing, until its latent possibilities staggered
his own imagination.

A certain Jew, proprietor of a pawnshop, was in reality a receiver of
stolen goods. It was common knowledge among certain crooks in the city,
that the recently stolen Bland diamonds had come into this man's hands.
Blizzard thought that it would be funny to take these diamonds away from
the Jew, hold them for a while, and then, since the fellow was after all
a friend, return them. To break into Reichman's store at night would be
dangerous. Reichman himself was no coward, and he employed a savage
night-watchman, just out of Sing Sing. So Blizzard planned a robbery in
a spirit of farce, and in the broad and crowded light of day.

Six stalwart young fellows