"Did you think—"
"Yes;—Lord forgive me! Why didn't you tell me?"
"How could I tell you suspected—"
"All right! I know. We'll talk it out later. The big thing now is, what's the paper going to do about this meeting?"
"Print it."
Into Ellis's face flashed the fervor of the warrior who sees victory loom through the clouds of hopeless defeat.
"You mean that?"
"Every word of it. And run the epidemic spread—"
Before he could finish, Ellis was fighting his way to a telephone.
Hal met his father's eyes, and turned away with a heartsick sense that, in the one glance, had passed indictment, conviction, a hopeless acquiescence, and the dumb reproach of the trapped criminal against avenging justice. He turned and made for the nearest exit, conscious of only two emotions, a burning desire to be away from that place and a profound gladness that, without definite expression of the change, the bitter alienation of McGuire Ellis was past.