Presently DeMott, probably entering upon a small celebration in honor of an adventure so craftily carried out, stepped to the cupboard and brought forth another bottle of liquor.
“You needn’t mind inspecting the fastenings of the hatch or the windows,” leered the captain as he seated himself again. “I saw you doing of it while I was at the cupboard, so I’ll tell you for your own information that the hatch is locked down hard and fast, and that the windows are likewise fastened.”
Havens smiled grimly but made no reply.
“Likewise,” continued the captain, his voice growing slightly unsteady, “I hold in these here pockets of mine two automatic revolvers which I have a habit of using in case anything unpleasant turns up.”
“I presume,” Havens said after a time, “that the offer I made to Mother DeMott would be rejected by you.”
“I haven’t seen Mother DeMott,” was the answer.
“I offered her twenty-five thousand dollars,” said Havens.
“That is a tidy sum, too,” the captain mumbled. “And yet,” he went on, “what would twenty-five thousand bucks amount to if one got a knife in his back for the taking of ’em?”
“You seem to be connected with a cheerful sort of a gang,” Havens suggested. “I don’t think I’d like such associates.”
“It’s a gang that meets treachery with cold steel!” said the captain savagely. “Always cold steel for traitors!”