Maudlin turned his eyes slowly from their straight ahead position until they came directly upon the handsome face of the other man. Then the two looked long and steadily at each other.
“What’re you drivin’ at?” blurted Bates.
“Only that I’m also interested in getting Jinnie away from Grandoken. The fact is I hate King, and I think it’s a good way to get even with him.”
He refrained, however, from mentioning he was Jinnie’s relative.
“D’you have me in mind when you come here?” questioned Bates.
“No! But I felt sure there’d be some young buck round here who’d fallen in love with the girl before this. And I found you without asking––”
“I’d make her beg me to marry her after I’d had ’er a week or two,” interrupted Maudlin, with dilating pupils. “How could we steal ’er?” 231
“Just steal ’er, I said,” replied Morse.
“And I said, ‘How?’”
Morse waited a minute until Bates repeated once more, “How, mister?” then he asked: