"Yes," murmured Stack in accents of honest terror.
"You followed me up here on your own responsibility, hoping to get in on my strike?"
"Yes."
Ralph dropped him. "Now we know where we stand!" he said.
Stack, like all born liars, had an infinite capacity for swallowing his lies. Ralph had no sooner dropped him than he unblushingly appropriated the credit for his confession.
"I had to come and square myself with you," he whined. "I couldn't rest until I had come and told you the truth!"
"Well, I'm damned!" said Ralph again. "Go on!"
"You're the only friend I've got!"
"Friend!" said Ralph with a snort of scornful amusement. "This is good! Give it to me straight," he went on curiously. "What did you come here for to-night?"
Stack's voice rose to a piteous wail. "Any night I may be murdered in my blankets!"