"Never had no truck with Heaven myself. Kinder knew I'd have no use for it." "Heaven--Heaven--you talk of Heaven! Another heart--a humble heart was all the heaven I wanted. To be at peace with myself--to learn patience: that was my unanswered prayer. And now the deed I have done has made me mad. Mad must I be, since I can talk of it to you. Yet 'tis to the thing looking out of you--not to you--I speak." David Leverett stared into the dark face above him, and his starved, hollow countenance grew hard. "What a trumpet! Ter bleat because you've got a nasty temper! What full-grown baby are you, that thinks God's its nurse, and cries becuz it's lost Him! Look at me! Like the rest of men, you've lived ter find your puny misery capped by worse. But look at me! Christ's sweat! you're an angel of light beside of me! A short temper----" "That has driven me into murder." "Murder--what's that? David was a murderer. So was scores that have marble stuck up to 'em all over the earth. 'Tis worse ter bring life inter the world than put it out. Have you never larned that much? You make a man in a moment of passion, and set another puppet strutting ter suffer life. And you mar a man in a passion, and--well, journey's end is no evil; death's no evil ter them that die. There's thousands of men this day as would tear me to pieces, limb by limb, and reckon they did heaven and hell both a service. And so they would. Curse the man as got me; curse the woman as bore me; not him who would kill me." "All this is nothing; you are only mad," said Malherb. "Nothing at all! See here now--this great bag of leather. I've dragged it thus far--further I won't. That is what I'm damned for; that is why hell's gathering up heat for me." He dragged out a big knife; opened it with his teeth; then fell upon the bag and slashed the leather. A flash answered every stroke, and gold coin tumbled and twinkled and fell in a shower upon the ground. "Murder--if I could murder that; if I could cut the throat of what that bag means! But I can't--so I'll cut my own. It seemed nought in the planning and promising--nought till after I'd done it and felt the weight of the money here--here." He beat at his chest. "Murder--killing kittens! I've murdered a whole country--murdered America! For this filth here mixing with the mire--for this and for liberty! Whoever you are, help me ter curse liberty! The name of a thing that is not. Judas only betrayed one man. A little matter that, come to think on it. I betrayed my own flesh and blood--them that had wives and children yonder, and old, fond mothers. Sold the whole of 'em--every blessed monkey of 'em; played God and Fate--for two hundred pound--and liberty!