th, then drew a long breath.

"That was a rotten thing to say to me, Ern, but I guess I deserved part
of it. Of course, the contract with Werner's got to be broken, and I
want you to chew on this. You've got to choose between Werner and me.
Our friendship ends unless you drop Germany."

"Oh, hell!" grunted Ernest and he turned and disappeared into the night.

Elsa shrugged her shoulders and began to gather up the dishes. Charley
followed her example mechanically. Roger and Dick lighted their pipes
and stood with their backs to the empty fireplace, and no one spoke
until the dishes were finished and the girls were seated with their
sewing.

Then, "By Jove," said Dick. "I don't know what to suggest."

"Neither do I," echoed Roger. "But this much I know. The main point is
to save Ernest. The Solar Plant is secondary. He's got to do what's
right in this."

"You'll never get away with it, Roger," exclaimed Dick. "Ernest really
believes in this superman stuff. He's a German."

"He's got to do what's right," repeated Roger, this time with a tired
break in his voice. "I feel as if I'd never believe in a man again
unless he does. What can I do, Elsa?"

Elsa shook her head. "I don't know. If you people will think back you'll
realize you've all been raised on adulation of Germany. Ernest is merely
the logical product of his ancestry and environment."

"How did you escape the poison, Elsa?" asked Charley.

"Overstuffed," she replied. "And I'm not alone. There's any number of us
American children of German parents who've been fed up on the
'Vaterland' stuff."

"Elsa," asked Dick, suddenly, "is Ernest a spy?"

The girl turned crimson. Roger interrupted quickly: "Oh, I say, Dick,
give Ernest first chance to answer that question."

"No, I'll answer it," replied Elsa. "He wasn't up to the time he came to
the desert, I'm sure. He was just wonderfully prepared soil, ready for
the planting of any sort of seed. What Mr. Werner did to him, I don't
know."

"Do you think Werner is a spy?" asked Charley.

"Probably, of an exalted order. As I look back now, he's been using Papa
and all the rest of the silly Turnverein, any way he wants to. How much
they know we never shall know. My heavens, what a dirty place the world
is!"

No one replied to this comment. Roger sighed deeply and a pitying
glance passed between the two girls as he dropped his head dejectedly on
his hands.

"Well, let's postpone more talk until morning," sai