“True! The pay’s good. It would be absurd to throw away good money for a scruple...”
“I was under the impression that you had buried your scruples,” the other answered, and was amazed at the sudden passion that blazed in the sombre eyes.
“Never in my life before have I permitted a man to insult me as you have insulted me,” was the angry reply. “I’ve swallowed as much as I intend to swallow... Whatever you have learnt concerning my past does not invest you with the right of insulting me.”
“Your complaint is quite reasonable,” Colonel Grey returned with a certain quiet dignity that partially disarmed the other’s math. “I have allowed my feelings to lead me away. I regret it. Will you please be seated, Mr Lawless? There are one or two things which I wish to say to you, if you are satisfied to go on with this business.”
He paused deliberately; and, after a moment’s hesitation, Lawless sat down.
“In the first place,” he added, when Lawless was again occupying the chair from which he had risen, “I think we should have a time limit for the carrying out of this enterprise. Is that agreeable to you?”
“Perfectly,” came the brief response.
“Then, suppose we say six months... How does that strike you?”
“It’s fair enough.”
“You haven’t any suggestion of your own to make on that head?”