PIKE [gently]. Well, being in jail _any_ place ain't much like an Elks'
carnival.
HAWCASTLE. There would be no escape, even for a citizen of your
admirable country, if his complicity were established, especially if he
happened to be--as it were--caught in the act!
PIKE [grimly]. Talk plain; talk plain.
HAWCASTLE. My dear young friend, imagine that a badly wanted man appears
upon the pergola here and makes an appeal of I know not what nature to
one of your fellow-countrymen, who--for the purposes of argument--is at
work upon this car. Say that the too-amiable American conceals the
fugitive under the automobile, and afterward, with the connivance of a
friend, deceives the officers of the law and shelters the criminal, say
in a room of that lower suite yonder.
[His voice shows growing excitement as a man's shadow appears on the
shade of the window nearest the door.]
Imagine, for instance, that the shadow which at this moment appears on
the curtain were that of the wanted man--_then_, would you not agree
that a moderate and reasonable request of your fellow-countryman might
be acceded to?
PIKE [swallowing painfully]. What would be the nature of that request?
HAWCASTLE. It would concern a certain alliance; _might_ concern a
certain settlement.
PIKE. If the request were refused, what would the consequences be?
HAWCASTLE.
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