E. R. Punshon

“ War is never personal. So far as we know, Bryce is no worse than the rest—a little bolder, perhaps, a little more daring—a strong man, one who knows what he wants and gets it—and so much the worse for those in his way. ”

“ He smiled. “A young fool with a bomb in his pocket called at the office, but he was in such a state of excitement it was easy to see something was wrong. He broke down as soon as we questioned him and told me all about it. I’m paying his passage abroad and giving him something to make a fresh start on. Quite possibly he will turn out all right. We didn’t even bother to report it to the police. The police are best kept out of these little affairs when possible—they make such a helpless fuss.”
“I don’t know how you can treat it so lightly.” Mrs. Bryce sighed. ”

“ He paused and once more fixed his strange and burning gaze upon his visitor. “It’s bottom dog against top dog.”
“Dog eat dog, eh?” the stranger said reflectively.
“Yes,” answered the old man, and his eyes blazed more fiercely, even, than before; “they have eaten us long enough. Now it is time for us to eat them.”
“Yet,” objected the stranger, “if we dispose of Bryce, it will only mean that another will take his place.”
“Bombs are cheap and easy made,” the old man answered. “For every Bryce a bomb. Besides, you are wrong. Bryces are rare; men like him are always rare. ”

“ But even if your body were found, no one would notice a bit of blank paper cut in a certain shape they might find in your pocket.”
“Ingenious,” commented the stranger.
“We are more than ingenious,” the old man boasted. “When it’s dog eat dog, we have to be. Well, you say you think you might succeed where Billy King failed. What makes you think that?”
“For one thing, because I have means of getting inside Mr. Bryce’s Surrey home whenever I wish to.” ”

“ There will be no danger in the future. And now I must go and wash my hands. I’ve had some dirty work to do, and they need cleaning.”
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1956, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 67 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”