He stood a few seconds staring at me, quivering with rage and fear; and then the question was repeated from outside.
"Don't try that trick again, mind," I said.
"Go away till I call," he answered.
"Good," I said with a grim smile. "Now listen to me. Do what I tell you and you shall have a chance to get out of the mess. Go to your desk there and make up a dummy packet like this in appearance and give it to the man who is waiting."
For the moment he was incapable of movement. The failure of his little attempt to outwit me and the result had unnerved him utterly.
"You are going to kill me?" he murmured, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Not if you do as I bid you. I don't lie, and I have passed my word."
It was necessary to steady his nerves in some degree for what I meant him to do; so I waited while he fought down some of his paralysing terror.
Presently he rose and shambled across to the desk, steadying himself as he went by holding to the furniture. He fell into the chair before it and buried his head in his hands and groaned.
"Come. Make an effort." He started at the sound of my voice and glanced round at me. I think he was the most despicable coward I had ever seen. With another deep sigh he picked out an envelope like that I had taken from him and then with shaking fingers folded some sheets of paper, placed them in it and addressed it.