father. I, for one, shall never carry over those associations to the son.
Never! He has my hand, my respect, my esteem in every detail. He is a
gentleman, my friends! There is nothing for us to do. If the sheriff is
unfortunate and the wound should prove fatal, Terence will give himself
up to the law. If he lives, he will be the first to tell you to keep your
hands off the boy!"

He ended in a little silence. But there was no appreciative burst of
applause from those who heard him. The fine courage of Terence was, to
them, merely the iron nerve of the man-killer, the keen eye and the
judicious mind which knew that the sheriff would collapse before he fired
his second shot. And his courtesy before the first shot was simply the
surety of the man who knew that no matter what advantage he gave to his
enemy, his own speed of hand would more than make up for it.

Gainor, reading their minds, paid no more heed to them. He went straight
across the room and took the hand of Elizabeth.

"Dear Miss Cornish," he said so that all could hear, "I congratulate you
for the man you have given us in Terence Hollis."

Vance, watching, saw the tears of pleasure brighten the eyes of his
sister.

"You are very kind," she said. "But now I must see Sheriff Minter and be
sure that everything is done for him."

It seemed that the party took this as a signal for dismissal. As she went
across the room, there were a dozen hasty adieus, and soon the guests
were streaming towards the doors.