"To ask me not to prosecute?"
"Exactly--exactly. The man attempted to blackmail you and the Reverend Mr. Kaimes. If neither one of you will prosecute, the magistrate will be obliged to dismiss the case for want of evidence. And then----"
"Then Captain Strange--that is his name, isn't it?--will send Jim back."
"I question it--I question it. Once free, he may again attempt to blackmail--that is, he may refuse to surrender his prisoner without money being paid."
"I do not agree with you," said Leah, mendaciously. "The man has had a fright, and will not trust himself again into the lion's mouth. Besides, even if he did try to blackmail, we could refuse, and he can't keep my husband for ever on board his dirty little boat. A prisoner who cannot be ransomed would be expensive to keep. Jim has an enormous appetite."
Hall smiled at the aristocratic jest. "True--true; you put the case concisely--very concisely, I may say. The question is, whether it is right to set the man free, and trust to an honour which I fear he does not possess."
Leah thought for a few minutes, playing her part to perfection. "It appears that Captain Strange, very wisely, will not open his mouth so long as he is shut up. If set free he promises to be amenable to reason. Of two evils I choose the least, as Mr. Kaimes has done."
"That means you will not prosecute?"
"Yes. Let the man go, and probably my husband will arrive within the week. How can it be done?"
"Very easily. To-morrow, or the next day, Strange can be brought before the magistrate; but as neither you nor Mr. Kaimes will appear, the charge will be dismissed."