"But I don't stock furrein chin-chin nowhow. An' now, ma'am"--he expanded his chest and puffed out his cheeks--"I'll trouble y' t' han' over ten thousand dollars."
"What's that in English?"
"Two thousand pounds." Evidently Strange had gone to considerable trouble in calculating his blackmail.
"And if you do not get it?"
"Then I guess you'll be sent up."
Leah laughed scornfully. "I understand: unless I submit to extortion you will tell this story about your supposed nephew and Mr. Garth."
"I'll rip out everything" the captain assured her without flinching; "an' t' th' nearest copper"--the last word, she observed, was popular cockney.
"Be careful," she warned him; "our police make capital out of rascality."
The sailor choked and his eyes bulged. "Ras--ras--rascality?"
"Blackmail, in plain English, Captain Strange."