He left them there shivering in the launch with a sudden chill that came not wholly from the cool breath that crept in over the dark surface of the harbor. They watched his dark bulk as he mounted the steps from the float, nor did they speak until the sound of his feet died out upon the pier.
Lynch was the first to break the silence. He forced a laugh as he turned to Ditson.
“We’ve got something interesting to look for,” he observed, with an air of bravado. “Mr. Buckhart was very theatrical in his threats.”
“If I’d ever thought it would end this way——”
Mike checked his companion by suddenly gripping Dunc’s arm and hissing:
“Shut up! Don’t talk like that now! Of course we didn’t mean to drown either one of them.”
Berger stepped forward.
“There’s something coming to me, gents,” he said. “Don’t forget it. You made me a proposition to run down that boat.”
“And you want to forget all about that, my man!” remarked Mike. “You’ll get the money, all right, but you don’t want to tell any one that there was any understanding between us. The whole thing was an accident. Nobody saw the rowboat until just as we struck it. Say so and stick to it—unless you want to do a turn in the stone jug.”
“The money——”