"I want gold to spend and not to paddle in," said Forsyth. "Give orders, Mr. Wisdom; I am here solely to obey."
Amos produced a long and very black cigar, bit the end off and began to chew, making his face all wrinkles. I thought that he would light it, but he did no such thing. He would look at it with one eye half closed, use it much as a musical director wields his baton to punctuate his words, and then chew again, until the brown juice was streaming from the corners of his mouth.
"Go to John Bannister this morning," said he. "Go to him now, if you like. He doesn't know you from Adam. Pretend you're just an idle, inquisitive holiday-maker who has dropped across him by chance; get into conversation with him, ask him foolish questions; and then, without advertisement, just--drop that across his head."
As he said this, he threw across to Mr. Forsyth some kind of weighted implement, such as a house-breaker might have in his possession. It was about the size and shape of a belaying-pin, and attached to the thin end was a leather strap to secure it to the wrist.
"Sounds simple enough," drawled Forsyth. "However, for the sake of argument, suppose I fail. I understand from what you both tell me, he has the strength of two ordinary men."
"Six," growled the red-bearded fellow, who seemed to me to be a discontented rascal.
"Strike hard and without warning," said Amos. "In case of mishap, Trust and I will be at hand to help you."
I thought, at the time, that Trust was another man--a fourth party in this vile conspiracy; for I did not then know that the name of the red-bearded man--as great a rogue as Amos himself, if not a tenth as clever--was Joshua Trust, who had served before the mast in the Royal Navy, to be tried by court-martial for a felony and afterwards discharged.
Mr. Forsyth, in the meantime, picked up the bludgeon and toyed with it in his hand.
"A useful tool," he observed. "Convenient to carry, and--I should say--effective to use. To be candid, I'm a little afraid of it. Though I have not the pleasure of knowing Mr. Bannister, I should be sorry--for my own sake as well as his--to deprive him of his life."