my own wish! Admirable!"

The admiration of the colonel, indeed, almost overwhelmed Donnegan, but
he saw that in spite of the genial smile, the face suffused with warmth,
the colonel was watching him every instant, flinty-eyed. Donnegan did as
he had done on the stairs; he burst into laughter.

When he had done, the colonel was leaning forward in his chair with his
fingers interlacing, examining his guest from beneath somber brows. As
he sat lurched forward he gave a terrible impression of that reserved
energy which Donnegan had sensed before.

"Donnegan," said the colonel, "I shall talk no more nonsense to you. You
are a terrible fellow!"

And Donnegan knew that, for the first time in the colonel's life, he was
meeting another man upon equal ground.




9


In a way, it was an awful tribute, for one great fact grew upon him:
that the colonel represented almost perfectly the power of absolute
evil. Donnegan was not a squeamish sort, but the fat, smiling face of
Macon filled him with unutterable aversion. A dozen times he would have
left the room, but a silken thread held him back, the thought of Lou.