Red Pawl hesitated; and he thought swiftly. He was cold and without scruple. Would this profit him? Suppose Black Pawl shot at Spiess—and missed! Then Spiess would be an enemy to be reckoned with; he would consider Red Pawl had betrayed him. But—Red was not afraid of Spiess. He could always handle the man. On the other hand, suppose Black Pawl shot straight. Then Spiess would be out of the way. There was virtue in that; it would be convenient. It would clear his own skirts; it would remove the evidence against him. Yes, he could bear to have Spiess die. And thus—there would be justice in it, and no difficulty with the log. Black Pawl would probably miss. His hand must be weak and nerveless by this; yet he was a crack shot, had always been. There was a good chance.
He looked toward Spiess, and he winked as he caught the man’s eye. That was for reassurance; it would give him a talking-point to explain that he had known Black Pawl would miss—if the Captain did miss. If he shot straight, then the wink had done no harm. Spiess went stolidly on with his scrubbing.
Black Pawl had seen his son’s glance at Spiess. He read it.
Red said curtly: “All right—if you like.” He took his revolver from the pocket of his coat and held it toward Black Pawl. The Captain took it in both hands carefully.
It might not be loaded. He fumbled with the mechanism, “broke” the revolver and saw the fat cartridges in their chambers. Loaded!
So, he was ready. He looked up at Red Pawl. “Kneel down,” he said. “Hold me up. I am very weak, my son.”
If Red Pawl had any friends among the fates, they forsook him then. He stepped toward his father, and knelt down before him, and put his arms on Black Pawl’s shoulders to draw the Captain to a sitting posture.
Their faces were not six inches apart. Black Pawl said softly: “I always loved you, son.”
Red Pawl grinned sneeringly at that. While the grin was still on his face, the dying man mustered the last ounce of his strength. He lifted the revolver. He jammed the muzzle against his son’s breast, and shot Red Pawl through the heart.