“No; but I knew it was not right, even to defeat an enemy. I knew you would regret it afterward.”
“Not by a blamed sight! You were plumb wrong there, Dick!”
Dick shook his head.
“I was right,” he said, with positive assurance. “I sought to save you from the secret shame you must have felt in future when you thought of it.”
“Secret shame. How do you know I——”
“I’ll tell you how I know. Any fellow is liable to slip once. I did, Brad.”
“You?” gasped the Texan incredulously. “What are you giving me?”
“Straight goods, old man. Once on a time I did a mean and dishonest thing.”
“I can’t believe it!”
“It is true. I did it impulsively, and no one but myself ever knew about it. It was not anything of great importance, but, when my blood had cooled and I came to realize just what I had done, I felt like a criminal. I suffered such intense shame and anguish as I have never known at any other time. I resolved to make reparation, but circumstances placed it beyond my power to do so, and to this day I have the unpleasant memory of wronging a fellow being. It taught me my lesson, Brad. It does not pay for a fellow to stoop to anything of the sort, no matter how petty.”