The Seventh Noon Part 41

"Sleep? Where am I?"

"You are at present enjoying a cell in the Tombs. You seem to like it."

Donaldson pressed his hand to his aching eyes. Then slowly the truth dawned upon him.

"What day is this?" he asked.

"Thursday."

"Yes. Yes. That's so. And to-morrow is Friday."

"That's a good guess. Do you remember what happened last night?"

"Yes, I remember. I 'm under arrest. I remember the terror in the face of that woman!"

Saul laughed inhumanly.

"Of all the bogie men I ever saw you were the worst."

"I suppose I 'll be arraigned this morning."

"I doubt it, old man. In some ways you deserve it, but I'm afraid the Chief won't satisfy your morbid cravings. Remember the story you told him?"

"Yes."

"And you 're wide enough awake to understand what I 'm saying to you now?"

"Perfectly," answered Donaldson, growing suspicious.

"Then," exploded Saul, "I want to ask you what the devil your blessed game is?"

"I could n't sacrifice an honest man, could I?"

"Then," went on Saul with increasing vehemence, "I want to tell you plainly that you 're a chump, because you sacrificed an honest man after all."

"You have n't arrested Arsdale? Lord, Saul, you haven't done that, have you?"

"No," answered Saul, "I was a.s.s enough to arrest you."

"It would be wrong, dead wrong, to touch the boy. He didn't have anything to do with this. There was no one with me."

Saul took a long breath.

"I 'm hanged if I ever saw a man _hanker_ after jail the way you do.

And you 've got the papers full of it. And pretty soon I 'll be getting frantic messages from the girl. And you 've made all sorts of an a.s.s of yourself. Do you hear--you chump of a hero, you?"

"What do you mean?" demanded Donaldson.

"I mean just this; that we 've nailed the right man at last! Got him with the goods on, so that we won't need the identification of a bunch of hysterical idiots to prove it. We won't even need a loose-jointed confession, because we caught him black-handed. But my guess wasn't such a bad one--it was n't Arsdale, but it was Jacques Moisson, his father's valet."

"Jacques Moisson?"

"The son of that old crone Marie there. He caught the dope habit evidently from his master and has been to the bad ever since Arsdale senior died. The old lady has been hiding him part of the time in the garret of the house."

Donaldson's thoughts flew back to the bungalow; it was this fellow then and not Arsdale who had attacked him,--if Saul's story was true.

Saul approached him with outstretched hand.

"You played a heavy game, Don."

Donaldson grew suspicious.

"I don't know what you 're talking about," he said, his lips coming tightly together again.

"No. Of course not! That's right. Keep it up! But I 'll have my revenge. I 'll give the newspaper boys every detail of it. I 'll see your name in letters six inches higher than they were even this morning. I will; I swear it!"

"Saul," said Donaldson quietly, "you 're doing your best to make me go back upon my story. You can't do it."

Saul folded his arms.

"Of all the heroic liars," he gasped, his face beaming, "you 're the prince. And," he continued in an undertone, "it 's all for the sake of a girl."

Donaldson sprang to his feet.

"Don't bring in _her_ name, Saul," he commanded.

"All for the sake of a girl," continued Saul undisturbed. "It took me some time to work it out, but now I see. Take my hand, won't you, Donaldson? I want to say G.o.d bless you for it."

Donaldson hesitated. But Saul's eyes were honest.

"This is the truth you're telling me?" he trembled.

"The truth," answered the other solemnly.

"Then you won't touch the boy? There is no further suspicion resting upon him?"

"To h.e.l.l with the boy!" exploded Saul. "You 're free yourself! Don't you get that?"

"Yes," answered Donaldson.

He pa.s.sed his hand thoughtfully over his face. Then he glanced up with a smile.

"I need a shave, don't I?" he asked.

"You sure do. Let's get out of here. And if I were you I 'd get back to her about as soon as I could. It's early yet, so maybe she has n't seen the papers. I gave the boys the real arrest, so that they could get out an extra on it and take the curse off the first editions. And now," he added, "and now I 'm going to give them the story of their lives--the inside story of all this."

"Don't be a chump, Beefy!"