That’swhatIcameherefor-totellyouthateverythingisallright，afterall。ThePugwilltalk。Maybehewouldn’tifhejusthadhischoicebetweenthatandthequick，painlessendthatabulletwouldbring；buttherearesomethingsthatamancan’tstand。Getme？We’lltryafewofthoseonthePug，and，believeme，beforewe’rethrough，therewon’tbeanysecretswrappedupinhisbosom。“
RhodaGraystoodmotionless。ThankGodithadgrowndark-darkenoughtohidethewhitenessthatsheknewhadcreptoverherface，andthehorrorthathadcreptintohereyes。“Youmean“-hervoicewasverylow-“youmeanyou’regoingtotorturehimintotalking？“
“Sure！“saidDanglar。“Whatdoyouthink！“
“Andafterthat？“
“Webumphimoff，ofcourse，“saidDanglarcallously。“Heknowsallaboutus，don’the？AndIguesswe’llsquareuponwhat’scomingtohim！He’sputthecrimpintousforthelasttime！“
Danglar’svoicepitchedsuddenlyhoarseinfury。“That’sahellofaquestiontoask！Whatdoyouthinkwe’ddowithayellowcurthat’sdouble-crosseduslikethat？“
PleadfortheAdventurer’slife？Itwasuseless；itwasworsethanuseless-itwouldonlyarousesuspiciontowardherself。Fromthestandpointofanyoneofthegang，theAdventurer’slifewasforfeit。
Hermindwasswift，cruellyswift，initsworkingsnow。TherecamethepromptingtodiscloseherownidentitytotellDanglarthatheneednotgototheAdventurertodiscoverthewhereaboutsoftheWhiteMoll，thatshewasherenowbeforehim；therecamethepromptingtoofferherselfinlieuofthemansheloved。Butthat，too，wasuseless，andworsethanuseless；theywouldstilldoawaywiththeAdventurerbecausehehadbeenthePug，andtheonlychancehenowhad，asrepresentedbywhatevershemightbeabletodo，wouldbegone，sinceshewouldbuthavedeliveredherselfintotheirhands。
Shedrewbacksuddenly。Danglarhadsteppedtowardher。Shewasunabletoavoidhim，andhisarmencircledherwaist。Sheshiveredasthepressureofhisarmtightened。
“It’sallright，oldgirl！“hesaidexuberantly。“You’vebeenthroughhell，youhave；butit’sallrightatlast。Youleaveittome！Yourhusband’sgotakisstomakeupforeverydropofthatgreaseyou’vehadtoputontheprettiestfaceinNewYork。“
Itseemedasthoughshemustscreamout。Itwashideous。Shecouldnotforceherselftoendureitanotherinstantevenforsafety’ssafe。
Shepushedhimaway。Itwasunbearable-atanyrisk，costwhatitmight。Mind，soulandbodyrecoiledfromtheembrace。
“Leavemealone！“shepanted。“You’vebeendrinking。Leavemealone！“
Hedrewback，andlaughed。
“Notverymuch，“hesaid。“Thecelebrationhasn’tstartedyet，andyou’llbeinonthat。Iguessyournerveshavebeengettingshakylately，haven’tthey？Well，youcanfigureontheswellestrest-cureyoueverheardof，Bertha。Takeitfromme！We’regoingdowntokeepthePugcompanypresently。YoublowaroundtoMatty’saboutmidnightandgettheelectionreturns。We’llfinishthejobafterthatbygettingCloranoutoftheroadsomewaybeforemorning，andthatwillletyououtforkeeps-therewon’tbeanyonelefttorecognizethewomanwhowaswithDeemerthenightheshuffledout。“
Hebackedtothedoorway。“Getme？ComeovertoMatty’sandseetherajah’ssparklersaboutmidnight。We’llhave’emthen-andtheshe-fiend，too。Solong，Bertha！“
Shescarcelyheardhim；sheansweredmechanically。
“Good-night，“shesaid。
XIX。DREADUPONTHEWATERS
ForamomentafterDanglarhadgone，RhodaGraystoodmotionless；
andthen，thenecessityforinstantactionuponher，shemovedquicklytowardthedoorwayherself。Therewasonlyonethingshecoulddo，justone；butshemustbesurefirstthatDanglarwaswellstartedonhisway。Shereachedthedoorway，lookedout-andsuddenlycaughtherbreathinalow，quickinhalation，Inthesemi-darknessshecouldjustmakeoutDanglar’sform，perhapstwenty-fiveyardsawaynow，headingalongthelanetowardthestreet；butbehindDanglar，atawell-guardeddistanceintherear，huggingtheshadowsofthefence，shesawtheformofanotherman。
Herbrowsknittedinaperplexedandanxiousfrown。ThesecondmanwasundoubtedlyfollowingDanglar。Thatwasevident。Butwhy？
Whowasit？Whatdiditmean？
Sheretreatedbackintotheshed，andcommencedhastilytodisrobeanddressagaininherownclothes，whichshehadflungdownuponthefloor。Inthelastanalysis，diditmatterwhoitwasthatwasfollowingDanglar-evenifitwereoneofthepolice？For，supposingthatthemanwhowasshadowingDanglarwasaplain-clothesman，andsupposeheevenfollowedDanglarandtherestofthegangtotheoldironplant，andsupposethatwiththenecessaryassistanceheroundedthemallup，andinthatsenseeffectedtheAdventurer’srescue，itscarcelymeantabetterfatefortheAdventurer！ItsimplymeantthattheAdventurer，asoneofthegang，andagainstwhomeveryoneoftherestwouldtestifyasthesolemeanslefttothemofwreakingtheirvengeanceupononewhohadtrickedandoutwittedthemagainandagainforhisownends，wouldstandhistrialwiththeothers，andwiththeothersgobehindprisonbarsforalongtermofyears。
Shehurriednow，completingthelasttouchesthattransformedherfromGypsyNanintotheveiledfigureoftheWhiteMoll，steppedoutintothelane，andwalkingrapidly，reachedthestreetandheaded，notinthedirectionofHarlem，butdeeperoverintotheEastSide。EvenasDanglarhadbeenspeakingshehadrealizedthat，fortheAdventurer’sownsake，andirrespectiveofwhatanyprematuredisclosureofherownidentitytotheauthoritiesmightmeantoher，shecouldnotcalluponthepoliceforaid。Therewasonlyoneway，justone-togoherself，toreachtheAdventurerherselfbeforeDanglarreturnedthereandhadanopportunityofputtinghisworsethanmurderousintentionsintoeffect。
Well，shewasgoingthere，wasn’tshe？Andifshelostnotimesheshouldbethereeasilyaheadofthem，andherchanceswouldbeexcellentofreleasingtheAdventurerwithverylittlerisk。FromwhatDanglarhadsaid，theAdventurerwastherealone。Oncetiedandgaggedtherehadbeennoneedtoleaveanybodytoguardhim，savethatthewatchmanwouldordinarilyservetokeepanyoneoffthepremises，whichwasallthatwasnecessary。Butthathehadbeenleftatallworriedhergreatly。Hehad，ofcourse，alreadyrefusedtotalk。Whattheyhaddonetohimshedidnotknow，butthe’solitaryconfinement’Danglarhadreferredtowasundoubtedlythefirststepintheireffortstobreakhisspirit。Herlipstightenedasshewentalong。Surelyshecouldaccomplishit！Shehadbuttoevadethewatchman-only，first，thelostrevolver，theonesafeguardagainstanadverseturnoffortune，mustbereplaced，andthatwaswhereshewasgoingnow。Sheknew，fromherassociationswiththeunderworldastheWhiteMollintheolddays，wheresuchthingscouldbepurchasedandnoquestionsasked，ifonewereknown。Andshewasknownintheestablishmenttowhichshewasgoing，forevildayshadoncefallenuponitsproprietor，one“Daddy“Jacques，inthathehadincurredtheenmityofcertainofhisownilkintheunderworld，andonacertainnight，whichhewouldnotbelikelytoforget，shehadstoodbetweenhimandamanhandlingthatwouldprobablyhavecosthimhislife，and-Yes，thiswastheplace。
Sheenteredadirty-windowed，smallandmustypawnshop。Alittleoldman，almostdwarf-likeinstature，withanunkempt，tawnybeard，whoworeagreasyandill-fittingsuit，anduponwhosebaldheadwasperchedanequallygreasyskullcap，gazedatherinquiringlyfrombehindthecounter。
“Iwantagun，andagoodone，please，“shesaid，afteraglancearoundhertoassureherselfthattheywerealone。
Theothersquintedatherthroughhisspectacles，asheshookhishead。
“Ihaven’tgotany，lady，“heanswered。“We’renotallowedtosellthemwithout-“
“Oh，yes，youhave，Daddy，“shecontradictedquietly，assheraisedherveil。“Andquick，please；I’minahurry。“
Thelittleoldmanleanedforward，staringatherforamomentasthoughfascinated；andthenhishand，inafumblingway，removedtheskullcapfromhisbead。Therewasacurious，almostwistfulreverenceinhisvoiceashespoke。
“TheWhiteMoll！“hesaid。
“Yes，“shesmiled。“Butthegun，Daddy。Quick！Ihaven’taninstanttolose。“
“Yes，yes！“hesaideagerly-andshuffledaway。
Hewasbackinamoment，anautomaticinhishand。
“It’sloaded，ofcourse？“shesaid，asshetooktheweapon。Sheslippeditintoherpocketashenoddedaffirmatively。“Howmuch，Daddy？“
“TheWhiteMoll！“Heseemedstillunderthespellofamazement。
“Itisnothing。Thereisnocharge。Itisnothing，ofcourse。“
