Hoag shrugged his shoulders, but made no comment. His shaggy brows had met and overlapped. His eyes had the glare of a beast at bay. “My wife thought”--Purvynes evidently felt that the point was a delicate one, but he made it with more ease than he could have done on any former occasion--“she thought maybe your boy Henry might have got onto you an' talked reckless, but if he did, Cap, it was some time ago, for the boy ain't like he used to be. He's more serious-like. I got it straight from one o' the gang he used to run with that he's really quit his old ways an' gone to work.” “It's Nape Welborne's lay-out,” Hoag declared. “They've done it out o' pure spite an' enmity ag'in' me.” Purvynes had averted his eyes; he seemed to feel that the conversation was drifting into useless waters, so far as he was personally concerned. “Well, I just come over. Cap, to ask you what you think _I_ ought to do.” he finally got out, as if aided by his clutch on the fence, to which he clung quite automatically. “_You?”_ Hoag emphasized the word. “Why, yes, me. You see, Cap, my women say they simply won't stay here a single day longer. They are scared as nigh death as any folks you ever saw. That's why I come to you for--for advice an' to ax a favor. I'm in an awful plight. I owe a good deal on my land. My brother is well fixed, out in Texas, you know, an' I can move thar, but I'll have to raise some ready cash. My farm would be good for another loan, an' you are the only money-lender I know. You see, you know why I have to have the money, an' I couldn't explain so well to a bank. So my wife said--” “I don't care what she said.” Hoag's mind seemed to be making rapid flights to and from his own numerous holdings. “If you think _you_ got anything at stake, look at me,” he plunged, dejectedly. “Why, the black imps could--could--” “I ain't carin' about my farm,” Purvynes broke in irrelevantly. “It's peace of mind I want, an' freedom from the awful chatter of my folks. Even the little ones are scared half to death. They've picked up a word here an' thar an' follow me about whimperin' an' beggin' to be tuck to a place of safety. Women may know how to scrub an' cook an' sew, but they can't keep a secret like our'n when they are under pressure like this. The wives of all the old klan--mark my words--will be together before twelve o'clock to-day. They will brand the'rselves an' us by it, but they won't care a red cent. They'd go to the gallows in a bunch if they could talk about it beforehand. Cap, a hundred dollars is all I need, an'--” “Don't call me Cap no more,” Hoag snapped, angrily, “an' don't ask me for money, either. I hain't got none to lend. Besides, you can't leave your property no more than I can mine. We've got to stay an'--”