“I guess not. Told the man I bought them of that I wanted to use them to shoot a dog. That was right, too! I am going to shoot a dog with them!”
“You have loaded the revolver with the new cartridges?”
“Sure thing. It’s all ready now.”
“Well, let’s talk this over a little. Sit down, Defarge.”
Skelding had taken a seat by the table.
“Wait,” said Bertrand. He took a bottle from a little closet and looked at it. It was empty. “I must have a drink,” he declared, his hand shaking. “Wait a minute till I come back. I know a fellow who has something in his room.”
He slipped out of his room, leaving Skelding there. In less than five minutes he was back, his face flushed and a changed expression in his eyes.
“I found something,” he said. “Now I’m all right for a while! Now I have nerve! It’s when I feel this way that I’m ready for anything! It’s when I feel this way that I shall do the job! I’ll put out those eyes so they’ll never bother me any more! Look at my hand. See how steady it is.”
He held it out, and Gene saw that it did not shake.