ncies issued from the wretched object of this
mockery. Tony, the other man, stifled his groans, rose to his knees,
and, with his hands clasped over his eyes, shuffled slowly away, as if
to escape the sound of Gray's voice.

"Better quiet down and let me do something at once, if you wish to save
your sight," the latter suggested. "Otherwise I won't answer for the
result. And you needn't tell me how it hurts. I know." This proffer of
aid appeared to throw the sufferers into new depths of dismay. They
called to him in the name of God. They were harmless, now, and anyhow
they had intended to do him no bodily harm. They implored him to lend
succor or to put them out of their distress.

Gray fell to work promptly. The bottle of cream he had begged from Ma
Briskow he now put to use. With this soothing liquid he first washed
out their eyes, the membranes of which were raw and spongy, and
excruciatingly sensitive to light, then he bandaged them as best he
could with compresses, wet in it.

"You'll breathe easier as time goes on," he announced. "You'll cough a
good deal for a few days, but where you are going that won't disturb
anybody. Your eyes will get well, too, if you take care of them as I
direct. But, meanwhile, let me warn you against lifting those bandages.
Advise me as they dry out and I'll wet them again."

A blessed relief stole over the unfortunate pair; they were still sick
and weak, but in a short time the acuteness of their suffering had
diminished sufficiently for Gray to help them into the back seat of his
car and resume his journey.

Sarcastically he referred to the sample case on the tonneau floor. "If
those diamonds are in your way, I'll take them in front with me. If
not, I'll ask you to keep an eye on them--or, let us say, keep a foot
on them. If you should be foolish enough to heave them overboard or try
to renew your assault upon me, I would be tempted to break this milk
bottle. In that event, my dear Mallow, you'd go through life with a tin
cup in your hand and a dog on a string."

Tony groaned in abject misery of body and soul. Mallow cursed feebly.

"What--is that devilish stuff?" the latter queried. It was plain from
his voice that he meditated no treachery. "Oh! I was going to tell you.
It is a product of German ingenuity, designed, I believe, for the
purpose of quelling riotous and insurrectionary prisoners. It was
efficacious, also, in taking pill boxes and clearing out dug-outs and
the lik