“A man who throws a stone at an enemy always makes a fool of himself by dropping a handkerchief or doing some other foolish thing to give himself away. I wonder why that is? I don’t understand it.”
“Well, Hodge demanded my exposure to the fac.,” said Defarge.
“To save myself, I faked up a pretty little story about being compelled by Morgan to do what I did. I thought Merriwell would come down on Morgan’s neck, and I had it in for Morgan.”
“He’s like all the others—beginning to crawl before Merriwell.”
“That’s why I hate him! I thought he would stand out, but he has thrown up the sponge. He’s even said sharp things to me. I told him he could not make the ball-team. I expected Merriwell would drop him from that, at least. Instead of that, he came upon me one night here in this room and forced me to acknowledge that I had lied about Morgan. More than that, he made me promise that I would never again lift a hand to harm him. And,” finished Defarge, in a husky whisper, “may I drop dead if I’ve ever been able to do so from that time to this!”
“Then beyond a doubt you have been hypnotized by the fellow. It is useless for you to squirm and deny it, that’s just what has happened. I know he has hypnotic power, although he does not make a practise of displaying it. You cannot make a physical move to do him harm?”
“I dislike him as much as ever. I fear him more than ever, and I keep away from him. But it is not natural for a Defarge to fear anybody, and my heart grows hot when I think he has brought me to this pitiful state. I would harm him somehow! If I cannot do it with my own hand, at least I can use my brain to do it.”
“And succeed as you have in the past—by getting it in the neck.”
“Because I shall bring to bear on him something of which he has no knowledge, and, so long as I keep out of his way, can have no intimation. But I need assistance.”
“Do you mean that I am to pull your chestnuts out of the fire?”
“Not that. You dislike him as much as I.”
“And there is nothing to hinder you from helping along any scheme to reach him.”
“In other words, you will do the brain-work and I will be your tool?”
“No, no, no! Why do you put it that way? Have I not in the past always been ready enough to strike when I could? My time is past. If I make another open move that fellow will expose me, and out of Yale I’ll have to go. But I can’t do anything if I would.”