“Why should there be any doubt on that point?” asked the lawyer.  “Do all my repeated assurances count as nothing?”

“We do not want promises now; what we do want is good faith and real co-operation.”

“Can it be that you—­”

“I ought to inform you,” continued Mascarin, unheeding the interruption, “that we have every prospect of success; and, if we carry the matter through, we shall certainly have a million apiece.”

Hortebise had not the calm patience of his confederate, and exclaimed,—­

“You understand it well enough.  Say Yes or No.”

Catenac was in the agonies of indecision, and for fully a minute made no reply.

“No, then!” he broke out in a manner which betrayed his intense agitation.  “After due consideration, and having carefully weighed the chances for and against, I answer you decidedly, No.”

Mascarin and Hortebise evidently expected this reply, and exchanged glances.

“Permit me to explain,” said Catenac, “what you consider as a cowardly withdrawal upon my part—­”

“Call it treachery.”

“I will not quibble about words.  I wish to be perfectly straightforward with you.”

“I am glad to hear it,” sneered the doctor, “though that is not your usual form.”

“And yet I do not think that I have ever concealed my real opinion from you.  It is fully ten years ago since I spoke to you of the necessity of breaking up this association.  Can you recall what I said?  I said only our extreme need and griping poverty justified our acts.  They are now inexcusable.”

“You talked very freely of your scruples,” observed Mascarin.

“You remember my words then?”

“Yes, and I remember too that those inner scruples never hindered you from drawing your share of the profits.”

“That is to say,” burst in the doctor, “you repudiated the work, but shared the booty.  You wished to play the game without staking anything.”

Catenac was in no way disconcerted at this trenchant argument.

“Quite true,” said he, “I always received my share; but I have done quite as much as you in putting the agency in its present prosperous condition.  Does it not work smoothly like a perfect piece of mechanism?  Have we not succeeded in nearly all our schemes?  The income comes in monthly with extreme regularity, and I, according to my rights, have received one-third.  If you desire to throw up this perilous means of livelihood, say so, and I will not oppose it.”

“You are really too good,” sneered the doctor, with a look of menace in his glance.

“Nor,” continued Catenac, “will I oppose you if you prefer to let matters stand as they are; but if you start on fresh enterprises, and embark on the tempestuous sea of danger, then I put down my foot and very boldly ‘halt.’  I will not take another step with you.  I can see by the looks of both of you that you think me a fool and a coward.  Heaven grant that the future may not show you only too plainly that I have been in the right.  Think over this.  For twenty years fortune has favored us, but, believe me, it is never wise to tempt her too far, for it is well known that at some time or other she always turns.”