"Ah!" said Mrs. Keith. "I suspected something like this. It's
difficult to imagine Dick Blake's going into anything so sober and
matter-of-fact as the paint business. Have you known him long?"

"I met him a year ago, and we spent two or three weeks together."

"But was that long enough to learn much about him? Do you know his
history?"

Harding gave her a direct glance.

"Do you?"

"Yes," she said; "and I gather that he has taken you into his
confidence."

"Now you set me free to talk. When I asked him to be my partner, he
told me why he had left the army. That was the square thing, and it
made me keen on getting him."

"Then you were not deterred by what you learned?"

"Not at all. I knew it was impossible that Blake should have done what
he was charged with."

"I agree with you; but, then, I know him better than you do. What made
you jump to the conclusion?"

"You shall judge whether I hadn't good reason. I was in one of our
lake ports, collecting accounts, and Blake had come with me. It was