Now this girl, to whom he had grandly thrown his handkerchief like some Oriental potentate, had dared to snatch away his disguise and to destroy it utterly. Never again could he wear it, because he would feel her eyes piercing it. Such a garment is only to be worn when there is none in all the world to recognize that it is a disguise. Once a single soul lifts the mask and gazes upon the reality lurking within, and the thing is done. Abner Fownes knew Carmel saw him as he was--not by sure knowledge, grounded upon fact, perhaps, but by intuition. Now he would forever question, and his question would be: Did others see him as he was? Was the adulation showered on him a pretense? Was the attitude people maintained before him a sham, an ironical sham? Was the world laughing at and despising him, as Carmel Lee despised him?... It was unbearably bitter to a man whose natural element was vanity; who had existed in vanity, breathed it, fed upon it, for a score of years. It is no wonder he hated her!... He no longer desired her. His one thought was to revenge himself upon her, to humiliate her publicly as she had humiliated him before his own eyes. He wanted to degrade her, to besmirch her, to defile her so that her soul would cry out with horror at sight of herself, as his soul revolted at the thing she had conjured up before his own eyes. His was not that hatred which kills. It was more cruel than that, more cowardly, more treacherous, more horrible. His was the hatred which could satisfy itself only by setting Carmel in the pillory; by damning her body and soul and then by exhibiting her to a taunting world.... He wrenched his eyes away from his desk, his thoughts away from his hatred. “What d’you mean by coming here with this, you fool?” he demanded, savagely. Deputy Jenney reared back on his heels from the shock of it and goggled at Abner. “Want to advertise to the world that I care a damn what she prints about whisky? Want the town to clack and question and wonder what I’ve got to do with it?” “I--I thought you’d want to know.” “I’d find out soon enough.” “What you aim to do about it?” “Do.... Get on record as soon as I can. Congratulate the _Free Press_ on its courage and public spirit.” “But she’ll pull somethin’ down onto us--her and that perfessor. Attractin’ notice to Gibeon. Fust we know, we’ll be havin’ Federal officers here, and then what?” “We’ve fiddled long enough.... We’ll petition the Governor to appoint a sheriff--before somebody else gets his ear.” “Me?” said Jenney. “I guess folks’ll have to stomach you,” said Abner. “But what about that danged paper? No tellin’ what she’ll hit on if she goes nosin’ around. Anyhow, she’ll git folks all het up and excited.” “Well, what would you do about it?” Abner snapped.