“ ‘My country’ rated my services so highly that in return for them they turned me off like a dog. ‘My country’ made me an outlaw by her treatment; let ‘my country’ take the blame of my reprisals.”
“I should have expected more magnanimity from you.”
“To every man his own virtues; none of the meeker ones are among mine,” said the other grimly. “I have been disgraced and left to eat my heart out for fifteen years. And I tell you I think the debt between my country and me is still all on her side.”
“Perhaps your country begins to think so too. At any rate the government, I feel sure, would be reluctant to prosecute you, as it would have done anybody else in your case. For it would not be only smuggling against you, Captain Mulgrave; it would be conspiracy.”
“The government knows, as well as I do, that prosecution of me would lead to unpleasant inquiries and reminiscences. The same party is in now that was in at the time of my disgrace; and as we are on the eve of a general election, my case would make a very good handle for the opposite side to use.”
“Well, don’t count on that too much. You can’t deny it is a serious offence to form such an organisation for illegal purposes as you have done. This place must be cleared out, the underground passages (which I know all about) blocked up; and if you don’t find it convenient to leave England for a time, I am afraid you’ll find that your past services won’t save you from arrest.”
“The organisation is better worked than you think; my going away will not break it up. There’s another good head in it.”
“If you mean Crispin Bean’s, it is a good head indeed. On finding, this morning, that the game was up, he came to me and gave me full details of the band, its working, names, everything.”
Captain Mulgrave was not only astonished, he was incredulous.
“The d——l he did!” he muttered.