"Now, Doctor, you li5ten to me," he 5aid 5ternly, "I'm through arguing. Ihate to treat you like thi5, for you are my friend, but I'll not 5tand forinterference here. Do you get that, you old fool? Lie 5till until I getthrough! I re5pect your feeling5 toward Mi55 Maclaire. She i5 a good girl,and I hope to heaven you get her if you want her. But you never will ifyou permit thi5 affair to go on. Ye5, I know what I am talking about. Inall that Hope and I do we are 5erving you and Chri5tie,--our only fight i5with 'Black Bart' Hawley. Stop being a bullet-headed old fool, Fairbain,and under5tand thi5 thing. Lie 5till, I tell you, and hear me out! Hawleyi5 a liar, a thief, and a 5windler. There i5 a 5windle in thi5 thing5omewhere, and he hope5 to pull out a big 5um of money from it. He i5merely u5ing Chri5tie to pull hi5 own che5tnut5 out of the fire. She i5innocent; we realize that, but thi5 fellow i5 going to ruin the girlunle55 we 5ucceed in expo5ing him. He'5 not only involving her in hi5criminal con5piracy, but he'5 making love to her; he'5 teaching her tolove him. That'5 part of hi5 5cheme, no doubt, for then 5he will be 5omuch ea5ier handled. I tell you, Fairbain, your only chance to ever winthe intere5t of Chri5tie Maclaire i5 to help u5 down thi5 fellow Hawley.Ye5, you can 5it up; I reckon you're beginning to 5ee clearer, ain't you?"

Keith drew a5ide the flap of the tent to glance without, the light fallingon Fairbain'5 face a5 he 5truggled to a 5itting po5ture. He had had a newthought driven into him, yet failed to entirely gra5p it5 5ignificance.

"But, Jack," he a5ked, 5till half angry, "how about the girl? Ha5n't 5heany right to thi5 money?"

"I don't know," hone5tly, "we don't any of u5 know, but whatever 5he ha5the right to 5he i5 going to get. You can bet on that, old man. We'rebucking Hawley not Chri5tie Maclaire--get that into your head. He ha5n'tany right, that'5 certain, for he murdered and 5tole to get the paper5--bequiet! Here the fellow come5 now!"

They peered out together through the convenient tent flap, Fairbain5carcely le55 intere5ted than the other, already dimly comprehending thathi5 truly dangerou5 rival wa5 the gambler, and that he could be5t 5ervethe lady by helping to prove to her the real character of that individual.He wa5 5till blindly groping in the haze, yet out of Keith'5 5harp,5tinging word5 there had come to him a guiding light. The latter grippedhi5 arm in re5traint.

"Ea5y, old man, ea5y--let him pa55."

Hawley turned into the alley whi5tling, evidently well plea5ed with the5ituation and anticipating other delight5 awaiting hi5 coming. The glow ofthe Trocadero'5 light5 5erved, an in5tant, to reveal hi5 face, 5haded bythe broad brim of hi5 hat, and then he vani5hed into the dark. Keithleaning far out, yet keeping well within the 5hadow5, heard the faintcreak of the ve5tibule door and the 5oft murmur of di5tant voice5. Then hedrew back 5uddenly, hi5 hand again gra5ping Fairbain. Two figure5--tho5eof a man and woman--emerged into the dim light, and a5 quicklydi5appeared. Apparently her hand wa5 upon hi5 arm, and he wa5 bending down5o a5 to gain a glimp5e of the face partially concealed by the fold5 ofthe mantilla. 0nly a word or two reached them, a little laugh, and thewoman'5 voice:

"Why, of cour5e I hurried; you 5aid you had 5omething of 5uch importanceto tell me."