Scott shuddered. He realized how closely he had rubbed shoulders with cold-blooded murder and how easily it could have been carried out if it had not been for Murphy’s forethought. “Must have taken some nerve to let him pull that trigger when you knew just what he was doing. Weren’t you afraid that he might have reloaded?”
“Believe me, I’ve been watching him ever since we got off the train. I knew that he could not reload without my hearing him and I sure listened.”
Qualley groaned and looked about him uncertainly like a man awakening from a dream and trying to get his wits together. Suddenly it came to him and he sat up with a jerk.
“This what you are looking for?” Murphy asked mockingly, as he poked the muzzle of the gun into his face. “Don’t monkey with it, it’s loaded now.”
Qualley realized instantly that he had been outwitted. He could not for the life of him think how they had been lead to suspect him and he was a little bit dazed by the unexpected blow, but his magnificent nerve was unshaken. He looked quietly into the muzzle of the gun with unmoved expression.
“Pretty clever,” he exclaimed admiringly, “but what is the big idea? You swipe the loads out of my gun, and then when I try to shoot an alligator you whirl around and knock me down without warning. If it is supposed to be a joke you are carrying it a little too far.” He was a splendid actor and if Scott had not had such good evidence of his intentions he would have doubted himself rather than this indignant Qualley.
“It’s a good bluff, Qualley,” Murphy jeered, “but it won’t work. You can sue me for assault if you want to when you get out of the pen, but it is too late to sit here in the swamp and argue about it to-night. Get up from there and trot along with us. It’s nearer to headquarters than it is to your camp and I know Mr. Graham will be glad to put you up there over night. We’ll tell Roberts that we reached camp all right so you need not worry about his thinking that you have gone back on him. Come ahead. It was mighty polite of you to let me go first back there, but this time I am going to show the politeness. After you, Gaston. Better take the rear, Scott, I don’t want to take a chance on plugging you if he should make a break for it. Now we’re right. Let’s travel.”
Qualley knew that it was hopeless to try to bluff them now and he took the lead without another word. The little procession was more silent now than it had been before and the grin on Murphy’s face was wider.
CHAPTER XXI
It was about one o’clock in the morning when they finally reached headquarters. Hardly a word had been spoken since the argument in the swamp. Scott opened the door and struck a light while Murphy guarded the prisoner. Scarcely was the lamp lighted than Mr. Graham appeared in the doorway in his pajamas.