"And child," repeated Dumphy, savagely, "and not coming back again--there'd be suthin' in the papers about it, unless I paid 'em, but what's that!--deserting one's wife isn't such a new thing in California." "That is so," said Arthur, with a sarcasm that was none the less sincere because he felt its applicability to himself. "But we're not getting on," said Mr. Dumphy, impatiently. "What's to be done? That's what I've sent to you for." "Now that we know it is not your _wife_--we must find out _who_ it is that stands back of Colonel Starbottle. It is evidently some one who knows, at least, as much as we do of the facts; we are lucky if they know no more. Can you think of any one? Who are the survivors? Let's see; you, myself, possibly Grace"---- "It couldn't be Grace Conroy, really alive!" interrupted Dumphy hastily. "No," said Arthur, quietly, "you remember _she_ was not present at the time." "Gabriel?" "I hardly think so. Besides, he is a friend of yours." "It couldn't be"--Dumphy stopped in his speech, with a certain savage alarm in his looks. Arthur noticed it--and quietly went on. "Who 'couldn't' it be?" "Nothing--nobody. I was only thinking if Gabriel or somebody could have told the story to some designing rascal." "Hardly--in sufficient detail." "Well," said Dumphy, with his coarse bark-like laugh, "if I've got to pay to see Mrs. Dumphy decently buried, I suppose I can rely upon you to see that it's done without a chance of resurrection. Find out who Starbottle's friend is and how much he or she expects. If I've got to pay for this thing I'll do it now, and get the benefit of absolute silence. So I'll leave it in your hands," and he again rose as if dismissing the subject and his visitor, after his habitual business manner. "Dumphy," said Arthur, still keeping his own seat, and ignoring the significance of Dumphy's manner. "There are two professions that suffer from a want of frankness in the men who seek their services. Those professions are Medicine and the Law. I can understand why a man seeks to deceive his physician, because he is humbugging himself; but I can't see why he is not frank to his lawyer! You are no exception to the rule. You are now concealing from _me_, whose aid you have sought, some very important reason why you wish to have this whole affair hidden beneath the snow of Starvation Camp." "Don't know what you're driving at," said Dumphy. But he sat down again.