"If she does that, I'm lost. We got to head her off somehow, Mr.--er--Bill." "I don't see how it can be managed. She has a perfect right to attend the pro--" "Wait a minute, Bill," broke in the other eagerly. "I got an idea. If you give her that roll of mine, maybe she'll stay away." "What roll are you talking about?" "My roll of bills,--you remember, don't you?" "My good man, I haven't got your roll of bills. And besides I couldn't put myself in the position of--of--er--what is it you call it?--tinkering with witnesses to defeat the ends of justice." "But she ain't a witness, Bill. You couldn't possibly get in wrong. What's more, it's my money, and I got a right to give it to my wife, ain't I? Ain't I got a right to give money to my own wife,--or to one of my wives, strictly speakin',--and to my own children? Ain't I?" "That isn't the point. I refuse to be a party to any such game. We need not discuss it any farther. As I said before, I haven't your roll of bills, and if I had it I--" "Oh, yes, you have. You got it right up there in your apartment. I stuck it away behind a--" "Stop! Not another word, Cassius. I don't want to know where it is. If you persist in telling me, I'll--I'll ask the judge to let you off with the lightest sentence he can--" "Oh, Lord, you WOULDN'T do that, would you?" "Yes, I would. What do you mean by secreting stolen property in my apartments?" "I didn't steal it. I found it, I tell you." "Bosh!" "Hope I may die if I didn't." "Well, it may stay there till it rots, so far as I am concerned." "No danger of that," said Smilk composedly. "A friend of mine is comin' around some night soon to get it. What else did she say?" "Eh?" "What else did my wife say?" "Oh! Well, among other things, she wondered if it would be possible to get an injunction against the court to prevent him from depriving her of her only means of support. She says everybody is getting injunctions these days and--" "Bosh!" said Smilk, but not with conviction. An anxious, inquiring gleam lurked in his eyes. Mr. Yollop continued: "I told her it was ridiculous,--and it is. Then she said she was going to see your lawyer and ask him to put her on the witness stand to testify that you are a good, loyal, hard-working husband and that your children ought to have a father's hand over them, and a lot more like that." "She tried that once before and the court wouldn't let her testify," said Smilk. "But anyhow, I'll tell my lawyer to kick her out of the office if she comes around there offering to commit perjury." "I rather fancy she has considered that angle, Cassius. She says if she isn't allowed to testify, she's going to attempt suicide right there in the court-room." "By gum, she's a mean woman," groaned Smilk.