“And cheap enough too. Wait a bit. I can guess what you are thinking. I’m not such a fool as you take me for. She only had a hundred in cash, the other is a post-dated cheque, not due until the decree is made absolute. Then I ran her out of the house.” “Who wrote those cheques?” The flush deepened, Gabriel could hardly control his voice. “I wrote them and Mrs. Capel signed them. She was absolutely bowled over, it was as much as she could do to sign her name.” Gabriel was beside himself or he would not have spoken as he did. “You did an infamous thing, sir, an infamous thing. You should have guarded this lady, since I was not here, sheltered her innocence. To allow oneself to be blackmailed is an admission of guilt. The way you sheltered her innocence was to advise her practically to admit guilt.” He was choked with anger. “Gabriel,” she pleaded. “My dear,” never had he spoken to her in such a way, he seemed hardly to remember she was there, “I acquit you entirely. You did not know what you were doing, could not be expected to know. But _this_ fellow, this blackguard....” He actually advanced a step or two toward him, threateningly. “Her good name was at stake, mine as well as hers, was and is at stake.” “And I saved it for you, for both of you. I’ve shut Mrs. Roope’s mouth. You’ll never hear a word more....” “Not hear more?” Gabriel was deeply contemptuous. “Did you ever know a blackmailer who was satisfied with the first blood? You have opened the door wide to her exactions....” “You are taking an entirely wrong view, you are prejudiced. Because you don’t like me you blame me whether I am right or wrong.” “You don’t know the difference between right and wrong.” “I wasn’t going to have my patient upset,” he said obstinately. “Gabriel, listen to me, hear me. Don’t be so angry with Peter. _I_ wanted the woman paid to keep quiet. I insisted upon her being paid.” And then under her breath she said, “There is such a little time more.” “There is all our lives,” Gabriel answered in that deep outraged voice. “All our lives it will be a stain that money was paid. As if we had something to conceal.” His point of view was not theirs, neither Peter’s nor Margaret’s. They argued and protested, justifying themselves and each other. But it seemed to Gabriel there was no argument. When Margaret pleaded he had to listen, to hold himself in hand, to say as little as possible. Toward Peter Kennedy he was irreconcilable. “A man _ought_ to have known,” he said doggedly. “He wanted to ward off an attack.” Dr. Kennedy went away ultimately, he had that amount of sense. By this time he was at least as antagonistic to Gabriel Stanton as Gabriel to him.