He was growing excited. Denzil, whose impulses did not lead him into indiscretions, brought him up suddenly with the quietly uttered remark: "No one could have been more upset than you were over Simmonds' death, dear fellow." "That's a fact," Van Bleit returned readily. "It was a shock to me. But it was my life against his. I fancy most men value their own lives more highly than another's. Simmonds tricked me to the bungalow, and he paid the cost. He meant mischief. It isn't wise for any man to attempt that sort of game with me." Lawless smoked in silence, and Denzil, under the pretext of getting a light for his pipe, nudged his friend significantly. Van Bleit in his excitement was giving himself away. "Well, anyway," Van Bleit resumed more collectedly after a pause, "he's gone, poor devil! Let him Rip. My resentment doesn't cross the border." He laughed. "I require a certain amount of the commodity this side the Styx... most chaps do. I reckon you've got an enemy or so yourself, Grit?" "I'm pretty well at enmity with all mankind," Lawless answered. "And my greatest enemy, I take it, is myself." "That's rot," Van Bleit returned. "Every man has at least a sneaking affection for himself, and no enemy entertains the slightest regard for the object of his animosity." "There is something in that," Lawless agreed, and thought for a moment. "Nevertheless, a man who makes enemies has an enemy in himself," he added with conviction. "It is so much easier to win friends." "My experience hasn't tended to that conclusion," Van Bleit replied. "Friends are like the diamonds men dig out of the bowels of the earth at great expense of time and labour, valuable on account of their scarcity." "You've had some good friends yourself, Karl," Denzil interposed with a wink. "Take Lawless, for instance. How many men would stay on in this God-forsaken hole solely to accommodate another?" "There wasn't much sacrifice in that," Lawless replied. "The house is mine till the end of the month. So long as I can get anyone to bear me company there isn't any incentive to leave it. When you go I clear out also. I can't stick it here alone. The place has served its purpose. I've had a good time on the whole. But, as anyone can see, it's not intended for a single man. In all these weeks I haven't seen a soul besides yourselves, except for a party of prospectors who outspanned one night." He rose and knocked the ash from his pipe. Away in the distance he had seen a pinpoint of light like a dull star low down upon the horizon, and he knew that Tottie had lighted her candle in the lonely hut a quarter of a mile away. He planted himself between Van Bleit's vision and the hut. "It's getting chilly," he said. "I've no particular fancy for watching the stars: Have you?" "No," Van Bleit answered, and he and Denzil rose and accompanied their host indoors. "It's a dashed sight more comfortable inside," he remarked.