im.

"You're a joke, Mike Hallo," he said, contemptuously. "The next time you
try to swindle someone, don't pick an American family. You thought you
were safe here, because we didn't have the money to hire big lawyers to
go after you, didn't you? You never expected to see me here in Semlin.
And when you did, you thought you'd fixed me by getting them to arrest
me!"

"I had nothing to do with that," protested Hallo. His blustering, savage
mood seemed to be passing, and he was disposed to cringe.

"Oh, no!" said Dick. "Of course not! You didn't want me to be driven out
of Semlin! You wanted me to stay here and get back the money you stole
from my father. You don't care anything about money, either, I suppose?
Oh, no! You don't care any more about money than you do about your right
hand! You wouldn't do anything to turn a dishonest penny except murder
and treason and robbery, would you?"

"Dick, I've always been friendly to you and your family," said Hallo,
tremulously. "I'm half an American. I tell you what I'll do. We'll let
bygones be bygones. I lost more than your family did in the failure,
back there in New York, of course. But I've done pretty well since I
came home here to Hungary."

"I should think so!" said Dick. "How much has the Austrian government
paid you for the spy's work you have done? Why, you even cheated your
government! You're not even a patriot!"

For the first time, seemingly, Hallo guessed that Dick might have
something to do with the enemies he really feared--the Servians with
whom he had been playing fast and loose for weeks.

"What do you mean by that?" he cried, turning half around in his
eagerness.

Dick jammed the pistol into his ribs to remind him of it.

"Go on! Keep your face turned away from me! I don't like the looks of
it!" he said, viciously.

"Do you know Stepan Dushan?" asked Hallo.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" said Dick.

"See here, Dick, there's no use in your being angry at me any more.
Perhaps I was mistaken. I will tell you, in any case, what I will do. I
will overlook everything that you have done here in Semlin, and I will
arrange to have the police charge against you withdrawn. That is a very
serious matter, let me tell you. If I did not have a great deal of
influence with the big people here it would be quite impossible to
arrange it. And I will give you, besides, twenty-five thousand dollars!"

Dick laughed.

"Go on," he said. "Walk faster!"

"Thir