"I see." Rupert's lip curled with contempt. "And if I give you all I have, you will condone a felony?"
"I don't care what beastly terms you use," snapped Mallien uneasily. "You know that it is in my power to have you arrested."
"And in Mrs. Beatson's also."
"Oh, I'll make it worth her while to keep quiet."
"I wonder how Dorinda ever came to have so dishonorable a man for her father," commented Rupert reflectively. "I always knew you to be a bully and an avaricious animal, but I did expect some decency."
"Take care," raged Mallien, growing livid again. "I shall tell the police what I know, if you insult me further."
"It is impossible to insult you. A man who had agreed to hush up what he supposes to be a crime cannot be insulted. He is beyond the pale of decency. I presume, Mallien, that it never occurred to you that if I were weak enough to agree to your blackmailing, that you could be arrested later as an accessory after the fact, always supposing that I am guilty, which I am not."
"Oh, for your own sake you'll hold your tongue," said the other confidently, "and Mrs. Beatson can be squared. I don't think she'll connect the murder and the will, anyhow, as I have done."
"I see. She is not quite so clever as you are. Well, then, if I hand over the property to you straightway, and not bother about finding the will----"
"Which you have already got and destroyed."