“He must not know—he must not!” panted the other. “You cannot help me if he finds it out. He will put me under his influence and command me to commit suicide, perhaps! Promise me that you will make Merriwell agree not to let Morgan know I revealed the truth about him.”
After a little hesitation, Bart said:
“I’ll do what I can. Go ahead and sign. You must throw yourself on Merriwell’s generosity, and I know you will not do so in vain.”
Then Defarge signed the lying confession, which Bart soon folded and placed in his pocket.
“That’s all, Mr. Defarge,” said Hodge, as he rose to his feet and walked to the door, taking out the key. “I have obtained just what I came for, though I must say you gave me quite a lively little time before I got it.”
He inserted the key and threw back the bolt of the lock.
“Good night,” he said.
Then he opened the door, flung down the rapier, and went out.
Alone in his room, Defarge laughed softly with satisfaction.
“You are welcome to all you got,” he said. "Now, Mr. Dade Morgan, you’ll find that I told you the truth when I said your head would come off, and perhaps you’ll learn to hate Merriwell again as intensely as you did not long ago. We’ll see if he will make a friend of you, as he has of so many others who began by hating him.