“Well, we’re maneuvering for position.”
“You’ve seen him. How does he impress you?”
“The same as he does others. A hard, ruthless fighter. Unless all signs fail, he is an implacable foe.”
“But you are not afraid?”
He smiled. “Do I look frightened?”
“No, you remind me of something a burglar once told me—”
“A what?”
“A burglar—a reformed burglar!” She gave him a saucy flash of her dark eyes. “Do you think I don’t know any lawbreakers except those I have met in this State? I came across this one in a mission where I used to think I was doing good. He said it was not the remuneration of the profession that had attracted him, but the excitement. It was dreadfully frowned down upon and underpaid. He could earn more at his old trade of a locksmith, but it seemed to him that every impediment to success was a challenge to him. Poor man, he relapsed again, and they put him in Sing Sing. I was so interested in him, too.”
“You’ve had some queer friends in your time,” he laughed, but without a trace of disapproval.
“I have some queer ones yet,” she thrust back.