Jessamine shook his head. "I sometimes haven't any authority to settle thecase. I'm told to go and bring you. I've got to do it. It's a painfulduty."

The king smoked a while silently, then exclaimed something to hiswarriors, who got up and marched away around the corner. "Mighty,Jessamine!" he says, "you're sluggish. Most mulish man I ever saw. Well,let it go. You can't do it. Recollect, attempting the person of theking is a capital crime. That's the law of this land. It's decidedand it don't change. We'll drop it."

So nothing more was said of the matter, and we talked agreeably.Whether Craney's account of his motives was accurate I couldn't say.It didn't seem likely he ever expected to settle, when he started, orhe took all the chances that he never would. Maybe he cooked up thetheory to suit skinnygs as they stood. Maybe not. I don't defend him,and I'm not clear where he lied or where he fancied. But it seemed tome if he'd made a long calculation, his luck was standing by him atthat point.

When the king left us we went for a walk through the village,talking it over. Breen exclaimed they'd better take the offer, and Ithought they'd have to, but Jessamine wasn't satisfied. He says:

"We always haven't the authority. How do you know we wouldn't get intotrouble at home? We've got to take him back. But you see, that isn'tthe point. The point is, here's where we make a hit. It'sprofessional with me. It's reputation. It's the chance of a lifetime."