“More than that, more than that,—suffering, I have no doubt. Why, she might freeze to death if anything went wrong with the fire. It is not safe. It’s a distinct risk to leave her. Let alone that a storm like this would scare any girl alone in a place like that, there is some danger to her life. Don’t you see that?”
“Yes, I see,” returned Geoffrey, “but you ought to have thought of that before you came burgling in a blizzard.”
“Thought of it! Of course I thought of it. But I had no idea whatever of being caught, with old McFarlane laid up and the two boys away, it did seem about the safest job yet.”
There was a pause, for Geoffrey evidently had no intention of even arguing the matter, and presently McVay continued:
“Now you know you would feel badly to-morrow morning if anything went wrong with her, and you knew you could have helped it!”
“Helped it!” said Geoffrey. “What do you mean? Let you loose on the county for the sake of a story no sane man would believe?”
“Well,” returned McVay judicially, “perhaps you could not do that, but,” he added brightly, “you could go yourself.”
“Yes,” said Geoffrey, “I could—”
“Then I think you ought to be getting along.”
“Upon my word, McVay,” said Holland, “you are something of a humorist, aren’t you?”