Section 47It was all up with Peter. He would go back into the hole! Hewould be tortured for the balance of his days! In his ears rang theshrieks of ten thousand lost souls and the clang of ten thousandtrumpets of doom; and yet, in the midst of all the noise andconfusion, Peter managed somehow to hear the voice of Nell,whispering over and over again: “Stick it out, Peter; stickit out!”
He flung out his hands and started toward his accuser.“Mr. Guffey, as God is my witness, I don’t know athingabout it but what I’ve told you. That’s whathappened, and if Joe Angell tells you anything different he’slying.”
“But why should he lie?”
“I don’t know why; I don’t know anything aboutit!”
Here was where Peter reaped the advantage of his lifelongtraining as an intriguer. In the midst of all his frig
