“He never compromises? You do him injustice. He can compromise royally--by the same method of 'giving in.'” “I simply can't believe it,” murmured Martha, shaking her head. CHAPTER V. IN WHICH HE IS ROUGH ON A FRIEND “RED.” “Yes?” “Are you through with that rabble? Can you 'tend to a friend?” Redfield Pepper Burns wheeled around in his revolving chair and glanced sharply at Arthur Chester. What he saw made him follow the moment's inspection with a direct question. “Sit down. What have you been doing?” Chester sat down. His face was white. He held up one shaking hand. “Red, what's the matter with me?” Burns continued to study the man before him. He made no move to examine into his condition, just looked steadily into the other's face with a gaze before which his patient presently shifted uneasily. “Well, of all the ways to treat a fellow!” He tried to laugh. “Is that the way you do with the rest of the bunch that come to you every day? Or are you trying to hypnotize me?” “Look me in the eye, Ches. What have you been doing?” “Working like a fiend in that infernal office. If there's any hotter place--” “There'll be a hotter one for you right on this earth, if you keep on the way you're going.” He rose suddenly, and approaching Chester closely, looked intently into the uplifted eyes. He sat down again. “Own up!” he commanded bluntly. “Red,” begged Chester, “quit this sort of thing. Go at me in the usual way. I--I think I'm a bit nervous tonight. I can't stand your gun-fire.” “All right. When did you begin?” “Five weeks ago when you were away. I didn't mean to get into it, Red, on my word I didn't, after all you've warned me. But it was so beastly hot--and there was a lot of extra work at the office. My head got to going it night and day. I--say”--he leaned suddenly forward, has head on his hands--“I can tell you better if you give me some kind of a bracer--I feel--so--deadly.” Burns got up and prepared something in a glass something not particularly palatable, but when it had taken action, which it promptly did, Chester's white face had acquired a tinge of colour and he could go on. “I stopped in Gardner's office one day when my head was worse than usual. Had to meet a man in ten minutes--important deal on for the house--had to be at my best. Told Gardner so. He fixed me.” “He did--blame him--fixed you for a dope-fiend. I've told you a hundred times you had precisely the kind of temperament that must avoid that sort of thing like the gallows.” Burns hit the desk with his fist as he spoke, with a thump of impatience. “It seems to set me up for a while--I can do anything. Then afterward--” “You're getting the afterward all right. How much do you take?” Chester mentioned the amount of the drug, stating reluctantly that for the last two days he had been obliged slightly to increase it in order to get the full effect. “Of course you have--that's the insidiousness of the devil's stuff. How soon does it get into action?”