Surreptitious good is so rare, that when it is found out it very naturally gets mixed up with secret evil, and the perpetrator of the hidden good deed feels guilty of a crime.

Paul was in this lamentable position, which he proceeded to further aggravate by seeking to excuse himself.
"I did it after mature consideration.

I tried paying another man, but he shirked his work and showed the white feather; so Steinmetz and I concluded that there was nothing to be done but do our dirty work ourselves." "Which, being translated, means that you do it." "Pardon me.

Steinmetz does his share." Catrina Lanovitch was essentially a woman, despite her somewhat masculine frame.

She settled Karl Steinmetz's account with a sniff of contempt.
"And that is why you have been so fond of Osterno the last two years ?" she asked innocently.
"Yes," he answered, falling into the trap.
Catrina winced.