d nothing left me but to go
out, a wanderer! Larry has done his work thoroughly, and you would have me
make friends with him?"

Miss Schuyler made a little sympathetic gesture, for he seemed very jaded
and weary. "No," she said. "One could not expect too much, but Hetty is
your daughter, the only one you have, and for her mother's sake you will
at least do nothing that would embitter her life."

Torrance looked at her with a curious smile. "There is nothing I could do.
Larry and the rabble are our masters now; but I will see her once before I
go away. Is there any other thing--that would be a little easier--I could
do to please you?"

"Yes. You could release Mr. Breckenridge."

Torrance turned and struck a bell. "I had almost forgotten him. Will you
wait and see me do what you have asked me?"

In a few minutes more Breckenridge was ushered in. He smiled at Miss
Schuyler, and made Torrance a slight, dignified salutation. Torrance
acknowledged it courteously.

"You have yourself to blame for any inconvenience you have been put to,
Mr. Breckenridge," he said. "You conspired to assist your partner in an
undertaking you could not expect me to forgive."

"No," said Breckenridge. "I offered to ride with Larry, and he would not
have me. I went without him knowing it and made my plans myself?"

"This is the truth?"

Breckenridge straightened himself and looked at Torrance with a little
flash in his eye. "You must take my word--I shall not substantiate it. If
you had had an army corps of cut-throats ready to do what you told them
that night, Larry would have gone alone."

Torrance nodded gravely. "It is taken. At least, you bluffed us into
following you."

"Yes," and Breckenridge smiled, "I did. I also prevented my companion
shooting one of your friends, as he seemed quite anxious to do. I don't
wish to hurt your feelings, sir, but I have not the least regret for
anything I did that night."

"Then, you are still very bitter against me?"

Breckenridge considered. "No, sir. The one man I am bitter against is
Clavering. Now, it may sound presumptuous, and not come very well from me,
but I believe that Clavering, for his own purposes, forced your hand, and
I had a certain respect for you, if only because of your thoroughness. You
see, one can't help realizing that you can look at every question quite
differently."

Torrance smiled drily. "Then if you are not too proud to be my guest
to-night, I should be glad of you