"You did, anyhow. Well, this ought to teach you that a business man ought always to act so that people trust him. You haven't, you see. People know you're a liar and a cheat, and so they don't believe you even when you are telling the truth. You may have meant to do all the things you've promised me to-night, but how could I take a chance on you when I knew the truth about the way you've acted before? A reputation's a good thing—I've always heard that, and now I know it."
Dick chuckled, but Hallo made no sound of any sort. Dick could imagine, however, the workings of his mind, and he did not envy the helpless man in front of him. Neither was he sorry for him. If Hallo was in a bad way, he had himself to thank for it. Dick could respect him, in a way, for his dealings with the Servians and the whole conduct of the man in his relations with the Austrian authorities and the enemy. He might be a good patriot. All the things he had done in connection with the sale of supplies to the army and the attempts he had made to break up the Servian system of espionage might be perfectly legitimate.
Even though Dick was heart and soul on the Servian side, he could respect any sincerely patriotic Austrian or Hungarian. But he doubted whether Hallo was capable of being either sincere or patriotic; he had an idea that the man was a patriot simply because he saw a chance to make money out of his patriotism.
"He is in a bad way, though," Dick thought. "They'll blame him for all the things that have gone wrong, and if he has acted here the way he did in New York, they'll believe that he did it deliberately too. They won't give him the benefit of the doubt; they'll be sure he was a traitor, instead of just a fool, and he will suffer for it too."
Dick was keeping his pistol carefully concealed. Whenever anyone came in sight, to whom Hallo might have appealed for aid, he reminded him of the existence of the pistol by tickling his ribs with it. But very few people were abroad. It was late, and Dick was purposely choosing unfrequented streets.
For more than the first time Dick was deeply grateful for his excellent bump of locality, which his service with the Boy Scouts had done so much to develop. It was comparatively easy for him to follow the course he had planned, and he knew that with every step they were getting further from the heart of Semlin and nearer the boathouse which was his destination. There was every reason to suppose, too, that he would not have to handle Hallo single-handed much longer. Behind him, when he glanced back from time to time, the trail was plainly marked by the little scatterings of corn.
"I'm glad it's night time," he reflected, with a grin. "In daylight there would be birds after that corn, and it wouldn't serve as a trail for very long. But it's good fun; it's like a paper chase, or hare and hounds. Only this time the hare wants to be caught!"
Then he thought of Hallo, and decided that at least one of the hares wasn't anxious to be caught at all.
"Still he doesn't know what I'm doing, I guess," thought Dick, "There's no use in spoiling the pleasure of this little walk for him by telling him, either. He'll know soon enough, if I have any luck."
They were in open country by this time, with very few houses in sight. Suddenly Hallo broke out.