"The danger?"
"Yes."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you might have been arrested and hanged. I didn't want my neck stretched as an accomplice."
"Was that it?" said Dunton, slowly, looking hard at his companion, the scowl on his forehead making him seem very fierce. "It was not out of friendship for me that you urged me to desist! It was because you were scared—your heart failed you."
"Oh, put it that way, if you like!"
"I thought better of you, Sargent. Never mind. I suppose it is natural for any man to be selfish. Now I know you for just what you are."
"Don't be insulting, Dunton. We've been friends a long time. This case is different from yours. I am not doing anything that will get either of us into trouble. I simply refuse to be dragged along this way any further. Merriwell may fool the others, but he can't fool me."
"Fool you—how?"