They went out by the rear door of the office, entered the car, and sped out of the village, unseen by the crowd. And all the way down the canyon Edward pleaded with Hal to drop the controversy and come home at once. He brought up the tragic question of Dad again; when that did not avail, he began to threaten. Suppose Hal's money-resources were to be cut off, suppose he were to find himself left out of his father's will—what would he do then? Hal answered, without a smile, “I can always get a job as organiser for the United Mine-Workers.” So Edward gave up that line of attack. “If you won't come,” he declared, “I'm going to stay by you till you do!”
“All right,” said Hal. He could not help smiling at this dire threat. “But if I take you about and introduce you to my friends, you must agree that what you hear shall be confidential.”
The other made a face of disgust. “What the devil would I want to talk about your friends for?”
“I don't know what might happen,” said Hal. “You're going to meet Peter Harrigan and take his side, and I can't tell what you might conceive it your duty to do.”
The other exclaimed, with sudden passion, “I'll tell you right now! If you try to go back to that coal-camp, I swear to God I'll apply to the courts and have you shut up in a sanitarium. I don't think I'd have much trouble in persuading a judge that you're insane.”
“No,” said Hal, with a laugh—“not a judge in this part of the world!”
Then, after studying his brother's face for a moment, it occurred to him that it might be well not to let such an idea rest unimpeached in Edward's mind. “Wait,” said he, “till you meet my friend Billy Keating, of the Gazette, and hear what he would do with such a story! Billy is crazy to have me turn him loose to 'play up' my fight with Old Peter!” The conversation went no farther—but Hal was sure that Edward would “put that in his pipe and smoke it.”
They came to the MacKellar home in Pedro, and Edward waited in the automobile while Hal went inside. The old Scotchman welcomed him warmly, and told him what news he had. Jerry Minetti had been there that morning, and MacKellar at his request had telephoned to t............