mention a man named Luke?"

"No; never."

Luke's voice cut suddenly their conversation; the doctor probably had
given him some stimulant.

"Where'sh Ben Corvet?" Luke demanded arrogantly of the doctor. "You go
get Ben Corvet! Tell Ben Corvet I want drink right away. Tell Ben
Corvet I want my thousan' dollar...!"

Constance turned swiftly to her maid. "Go out to the car and wait for
me," she commanded.

Luke's muffled, heavy voice went on; moments while he fought for breath
interrupted it.

"You hear me, you damn Injin! ... You go tell Ben Corvet I want my
thousan' dollars, or I make it two nex' time! You hear me; you go tell
Ben Corvet.... You let me go, you damn Injin!"...

Through the doorway to the library they could see the doctor force Luke
back upon the couch; Luke fought him furiously; then, suddenly as he
had stirred to strength and fury, Luke collapsed again. His voice went
on a moment more, rapidly growing weaker:

"You tell Ben Corvet I want my money, or I'll tell. He knows what I'll
tell.... You don't know, you Injin devil.... Ben Corvet knows, and I
know.... Tell him I'll tell ... I'll tell ... I'll tell!" The
threatening voice stopped suddenly.

Constance, very pale, again faced Alan. "Of course, I understand," she
said. "Uncle Benny has been paying blackmail to this man. For years,
perhaps...." She repeated the word after an instant, in a frightened
voice, "Blackmail!"

"Won't you please go, Miss Sherrill?" Alan urged her. "It was good of
you to come; but you mustn't stay now. He's--he's dying, of course."

She seated herself upon a chair. "I'm going to stay with you," she
said simply. It was not, she knew, to share the waiting for the man in
the next room to die; in that, of itself, there could be nothing for
him to feel. It was to be with him while realization which had come to
her was settling upon him too--realization of what this meant to him.
He was realizing that, she thought; he had realized it; it made him, at
moments, forget her while, listening for sounds from the other room, he
paced back and forth beside the table or stood staring away, clinging
to the portieres. He left her presently, and went across the hall to
the doctor. The man on the couch had stirred as though to start up
again; the voice began once more, but now its words were wholly
indistinguishable, meaningless, incoherent. They stopped, and Luke lay
still; the doctor--Alan was helping him now