“I’m accustomed to be obeyed pretty quickly. Ask Karasch there,” I said, drily. Karasch laughed again and swore.
The leader shouted the command over his shoulder, and after some demur it was obeyed.
“Go and pick the guns up, Karasch, and get this man’s from his horse, and bring them to the tent,” I said, and waited while he fetched them.
Then I took my hand from the leader’s shoulder and stepped back.
“Now we shall all breathe a little more freely. You see the kind of soft fool you’ve got to deal with in me now, and you won’t make any more mistakes of this kind. There are two ways of doing what you’ve come to do—the rough and the smooth. You’ve tried the rough and have run up against a snag. Now we’ll go to the tent and talk over the smooth way.”
“Give us our prisoner, and we’ll go.”
“But Karasch and I wish to go with you, and I want to explain to you the little difficulty your man has put in the way. Come.”
“I don’t want to go there.”
“If you’d rather go straight to hell, you can,” I exclaimed, fiercely. “Choose, and be quick about it.”
“I’ll come,” he said, sullenly.