Those wrongs had been worked many years ago; probably most of the men who had aided and abetted them by now were dead or very aged, and it was their sons upon whom the vengeance would be wreaked.
What right had I to assist in visiting the sins of the fathers upon the sons?
Frankly I could not say.

The thing seemed to me to be a part of the problem of life, neither less nor more.

So I shrugged my shoulders sadly and consoled myself by reflecting that very likely the issue would go against me, and that my own existence would pay the price of the venture and expound its moral.

This consideration soothed my conscience somewhat, for when a man backs his actions with the risk of his life, right or wrong, at any rate he plays no coward's part.
The time went by very slowly and nothing happened.

The waning moon shone brightly in a clear sky, and as there was no wind the silence seemed peculiarly intense.