Murkard clutched him by the arm and looked into his face.
"Well—well—why don't you go on? Why don't you tell me all?"
"Because I can't, old friend, I can't. I despise myself enough as it is for having listened to such a thing."
"I can see something pretty bad has happened, and Merton has suggested to you that I am the guilty party. Good! Now tell me with what I am charged? Don't be afraid. I shall not think the worse of you."
"The Black Pearl!"
"Gone? Yes, gone! I can read it in your face. The thief, oh, the infernal, lying, traitorous thief! I see it all now. Oh, Ellison! you have been trapped—cruelly, heartlessly trapped! But, please God, it is not too late to set it right, whatever the cost may be."
"How? Speak out. What do you mean? What fresh villainy am I to discover now?"
"Listen to me. Has that man told you my history?"
"Yes."
"Who I really am?"