They satisfied
themselves that I was in fact as impregnable as I had warned Langdon. They
reversed tactics; Roebuck tried to make it up with me. "If he wants to see
me," was my invariable answer to the intimations of his emissaries, "let
him come to my office, just as I would go to his, if I wished to see him."
"He is a big man--a dangerous big man," cautioned Joe.
"Big--yes. But strong only against his own kind," replied I. "One mouse can
make a whole herd of elephants squeal for mercy."
"It isn't prudent, it isn't prudent," persisted Joe.
"It is not," replied I. "Thank God, I'm at last in the position I've been
toiling to achieve. I don't have to be prudent. I can say and do what I
please, without fear of the consequences. I can freely indulge in the
luxury of being a man. That's costly, Joe, but it's worth all it could
cost."
Joe didn't understand me--he rarely did. "I'm a hen. You're an eagle," said
he.
XXIX
A HOUSEWARMING
Joe's daughter, staying on and on at Dawn Hill, was chief lieutenant, if
not principal, in my conspiracy to drift Anita day by day further and
further into the routine of the new life. Yet neither of us had shown by
word or look that a thorough understanding existed between us.
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