my
boy. Unless you guard your tongue--"

"Bah! Resent it, if you dare; you coward."

"Coward?"

"Yes. A man who attacks an innocent girl is a coward. And you've been a
coward all your life, Mershone, for one reason or another. No one
believes in your pretended reform. But I want to warn you to keep away
from Miss Merrick, hereafter, or I'll take a hand in your punishment
myself."

For a moment the two eyed one another savagely. They were equally
matched in physique; but Arthur was right, there was no fight in
Mershone; that is, of the knock-down order. He would fight in his own
way, doubtless, and this made him more dangerous than his antagonist
supposed.

"What right have you, sir, to speak for Miss Merrick?" he demanded.

"The best right in the world," replied Arthur. "She is my promised
wife."

"Indeed! Since when?"

"That is none of your affair, Mershone. As a matter of fact, however,
that little excitement you created last night resulted in a perfect
understanding between us." "_I_ created!"

"You, of course. Miss Merrick does not care to meet you again. You will
do well to avoid her in the future."

"I don't believe you, Weldon. You're bluffing."

"Am I? Then dare to annoy Miss Merrick again and I'll soon convince you
of my sincerity."

With this parting shot he walked away, leaving Mershone really at a loss
to know whether he was in earnest or not. To solve the question he
called a taxicab and in a few minutes gave his card to the Merrick
butler with a request to see Miss Louise.

The man returned with a message that Miss Merrick was engaged.

"Please tell her it is important," insisted Mershone.

Again the butler departed, and soon returned.

"Any message for Miss Merrick must be conveyed in writing, sir," he
said, "She declines to see you."

Mershone went away white with anger. We may credit him with loving
Louise as intensely as a man of his caliber can love anyone. His sudden
dismissal astounded him and made him frantic with disappointment.
Louise's treatment of the past few days might have warned him, but he
had no intuition of the immediate catastrophe that had overtaken him. It
wasn't his self-pride that was injured; that had become so battered
there was little of it left; but he had set his whole heart on winning
this girl and felt that he could not give her up.

Anger toward Weldon was prominent amongst his emotion. He declared
between his set teeth that if Louise was lost to hi