"You remember our little fracas with Porshinger and Murchison up at the Club some time ago?" said Pendleton.
"Sure—that is what makes his coming here embarrassing—though they both have utterly ignored it since."
"Only outwardly. Porshinger has threatened vengeance on Stephanie and me, it seems. The women heard of it—Gladys and Stephanie, that is—and have a scheme to propitiate him, the first course of which is this invitation to Criss-Cross. Subsequent courses will depend on how this one goes down with all concerned. It's nonsense, certainly, but as he can injure Stephanie, if he sets himself to do it, I don't feel justified in opposing it."
"The infernal scoundrel!" Burgoyne exclaimed. "Do you actually think he contemplates taking his revenge on a woman?"
"To be quite candid, I don't know. However, judging from his business methods, he is mean enough for anything."
"Can he reach you?"
"If he should try, yes—he has sufficient power, with his enormous wealth and its ramifications, to reach almost any one in some way or by some means."
"He is a good hater, I've always understood," said Burgoyne.
"I'm not alarmed," Pendleton answered.
"Doesn't he include me in his revenge?"