"I am not quitting!" she declared. "I will continue the game. But I will not permit violence toward anybody, least of all to a poor fellow who has nothing to do with the affair except that he is working for Sidney Prale. We can accomplish our aims without becoming thugs and breaking laws ourselves. I understood that we always were to keep inside the law." "Well, what have you to suggest?" the masked man asked. "Let Prale's valet go, for he can do us no harm. Prale knows that I am against him, but he can make no move unless we break the law and his detective has us apprehended. We play into Sidney Prale's hands if we do that. Can't you see it? We do not want to give him an advantage, do we? If we use violence or break a law, we do just that. We must break him down cleverly." "I see that point, all right." "I am astonished that you did not see it before. You appear to be very vindictive lately, yet you did not suffer as some others suffered." "I have my reasons. I always have hated Sidney Prale." "Then you are making this fight for personal reasons?" "Do not forget that some very good friends of mine suffered because of Prale. But, about the valet----" "Let him go, I say. What harm can he do?" "We slugged him to get him here. He can report it to the police, and have you arrested, and these two men." "And what evidence would he have?" she asked. "Who would testify that he was telling the truth? These two men can keep out of sight for the present. He has not seen your face because of your mask. And to charge me with slugging him would be ridiculous." "This house----" "Is vacant, so far as the neighbors know; it is owned by a man whose wife died, and who has been gone for more than a year. The agent who rented it to us furnished, is one of us. We can simply close it up and not come here again. If he complained, and the police investigated, they would find the house closed, and the nearest neighbors would declare that it had been closed since the owner went away. The furniture is not even dusted." "That part is all right." "And that attack on Prale in the Park during the afternoon!" she went on. "That was a mistake. Suppose Detective Farland managed to connect that with us. I tell you we must not break a law, or Sidney Prale may get the advantage!" "We can't handle an affair like this with kid gloves!" the masked man declared. "We do as I say, or I shall go to Sidney Prale and tell him everything and rob you of your vengeance!" "You would do that!" the masked man cried, springing from his chair. "I'll do it if there is any more violence!" she declared. "It was understood that no rough tactics were to be used, and I demand that we carry out the original plan!" "We'll see about this!" the masked man cried. "I'll talk to some of the others----" "And I'll leave the game if there is any more violence--do not forget that!" Kate Gilbert cried.