taken a dislike to me and--"

"Ho, ho! I thought you were always victorious with the women."

"So I have been until now, and I am by no means vanquished yet, in this
instance; but I have a rival in the way, one, too, that had possession of
the citadel of her heart, ere I became a candidate for her hand; that makes
a great difference, you know; then, to make the matter worse, I knew
nothing about the state of the case until I had spent a length of time in
wooing, all to no purpose, because of my ignorance. But enough of this. If
worst comes to worst, rivals must be got out of the way."

"Be guarded there, Duffel; a resort to foul means must never be had until
every other method has been 'tried and found wanting.' Remember that. One
murder will do more against us than fifty thefts or robberies."

"I know all that, captain, and shall not peril the existence of our
organization, or even the safety of one of its members, except necessity
compels to the act; but I think there will be no need of adopting extreme
measures in the present case. I have a different plan of operations marked
out, which, with your assistance and approval, I will first act upon, and
if _it_ fails, then something else afterward."

"Well, proceed; I am all attention, and will not fail to render such
assistance as shall be in my power, though you know my time is limited."

"I shall not draw upon you for much aid; an hour is all the time it will
require for your part of the performance. But before you can appreciate the
merits of my scheme, it is necessary that I should make some explanations.
You remember the conversation we held in old Marshall's garden?"