“I’d like to do it, but you are going the wrong way.”

“What’s the odds? There is no reason why you should not turn back and——”

“There is a reason.”

“Of course I do not know about that, but——”

“Listen, Frank; you remember Isa Isban?”

“Yes, and Vida Milburn, Isa’s half-sister, with whom you were in love. I distinctly remember that Vida was a beautiful and charming girl.”

Hodge’s teeth ground together with a nerve-tingling, grating sound, and his face was set as stone, although his eyes still blazed.

“Yes, a beautiful girl—a charming girl!” he admitted, but with sarcasm that could not be mistaken.

“What’s the matter? Where is Vida now?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care a rap!”