"Don't see the point," said the quack shortly.

"Since you do not intend to use it in your business, it can't be of any
value to you," countered the other.

"What's its value to you?"

"In plain words, the honor of my church is involved. The check is a
bribe. The letter is the graft."

"Nothing of the sort. You come here, a minister of the gospel," Dr.
Surtaine reproached him sorrowfully, "and use hard words about a
transaction that is perfectly straight business and happens every day."

"Not in my church."

"It isn't your letter, anyhow. You didn't write it."

"It is written on the official paper of the church. Smithson told me so.
He didn't understand what use would be made of it when he wrote it. Take
your check back, Dr. Surtaine, and give me the letter."

"Persistency, thy name is a jewel," said Dr. Surtaine with an air of
scholarliness. "You win. The letter will be returned to-morrow. You'll
take my word, I suppose?"

"Certainly; and thank you."

"And now, suppose I offered to leave the check in your hands?" asked the
Doctor curiously.

"I couldn't take it," came the decisive reply.

"Do you mind telling me why?"

The visitor spread out upon the table the newspaper page which he had
taken from his pocket. "This morning's 'Clarion,'" he said.

"So that's the trouble! You've been reading that blackmailing sheet.
Why, what's the 'Clarion,' anyway? A scandal-mongering, yellow
blatherskite, on its last legs financially. It's for sale to any bidder
who'd be fool enough to put up money. The 'Clarion' went after me
because it couldn't get our business. It ain't any straighter than a
corkscrew's shadow."

"Do I understand you to say that this attack is due to your refusal to
advertise in the 'Clarion'?"

"That's it, to a T. And now, you see, Mr. Hale," continued Dr. Surtaine
in a tone of long-suffering and dignified injury, "how believing all you
see in print lures you into chasing after strange dogs."

The visitor's mouth quivered a little at this remarkable paraphrase of
the Scripture passage; but he said gravely enough:

"Then we get back to the original charges, which the 'Clarion' quotes
from the 'Church Standard.'"

"And there you are! Up to three years ago the 'Standard' took all the
advertising we'd give them, and glad to get it. Then it went daffy over
the muckraking magazine exposures, and threw out all the proprietary
copy. Now nothing will do but it must roast its old patrons to show off