He stopped. Briggs stood in front of him, looking him sharply in the face, with hands clasped behind his back.
“West!”
Franklin West let his hand drop. His eyes showed astonishment. “What’s the matter?” he gasped.
Briggs went on, in a lower voice: “West, I have something to say to you, and I might as well say it without any preliminaries. I want to tell you that you’re a blackguard.”
“What!” West exclaimed.
“I have heard from my wife how you insulted her at our house last Spring.”
“Insulted her? It’s—it’s a mistake. I never——”
Briggs drew nearer West. He looked dangerous. “No. There’s no mistake. My wife isn’t in the habit of lying. Now, I have just one thing to say to you. That is, get out of here. Don’t ever show yourself in my house again. If you do, by God, you’ll pay for it!”
West had partly recovered from his bewilderment. “You must be crazy!” he said.
“I shall be if you don’t take yourself out of my sight pretty quick.”