Inwardly disturbed as he is--for he does not know what proofs may be in Felix's hands, and whether Felix is speaking truth or gasconading--Mr. Sheldrake snaps his fingers scornfully.
"That for your evidence and witnesses!" he says. "You can do your best and your worst!"
But he begins to lose courage when Felix plays his next move.
"You asked me when I came in whether there were any more of us. I told you there was one more, and that you should see him presently."
Felix goes to the door which leads to the inner room, and opens it, and Mr. Musgrave comes forward. Then, for the first time, the consideration whether it will not be advisable to make terms, occurs to Mr. Sheldrake.
"You drunken old thief!" he exclaims, with an oath. "Are you in this plot?"
"And has been for some time," answers Felix, in a pleasant voice. "We will excuse any hard words you may use. We are in confidence, and what passes between us is, as the lawyers say, without prejudice. But you have not seen all the cards in our hands yet. I speak, you see, in a language you can understand. Shall I show you another trump-card that we hold?"
"Go on."
"I heard you say before I entered that you had seen Mr. Con Staveley this morning. That is not true. But it is true that my detective friend has seen him, and we have made terms (this is without prejudice, mind) with him. If we are compelled to make this case public, he appears against you. We hold him harmless, and he is satisfied to get out of a serious scrape without a scratch. In no one instance was he your partner in any of the transactions you have had with the young gentleman whom you tried to lead to ruin. We have this down in black and white. Do you think we have trumps enough to win the game?"
"I don't know. What stakes are we playing for?"