Page:Keeban (IA keeban00balm).pdf/144

 after the Sparling affair. Undoubtedly she'd have gone right through with the arrangement rigged on old Win, if 'my friend' had stuck to original prospectus; but Fred and Ken didn't make that possible. And 'my friend', from his point of view, was left with no other course than to croak old Win. If he was to maintain any sort of discipline, he simply had to do it."

"Discipline of whom? Shirley?"

"For one, among others. My brother," said Jerry, avoiding his previous euphonism of "friend" and speaking with a queer timbre of pride, "had a leadership to maintain and improve, a certain record of success to conserve. A man in his position must, above every one else, save his face; he can let no one smile at him. Here he had let his girl go to old Win Scofield to make him some money and Win's sons had made it impossible, unless somebody croaked Win; so Win had to be croaked; not merely for the money, but to save 'my friend's' face.

"Now Shirley, on the square, tried to stop that; from the time I spoke to you, she was never against you. It's right for her to have the insurance money that's paid; she was not in the scheme of the croaking; nobody can ever show she was."