Evers was not in the least put out. "Oh, come! Looking at it from a disinterested point of view, old Silas Gyde was not much of a loss to the community, was he? And he wasn't your benefactor until I put him out of the way."
"I can't argue that with you," said Jack stiffly. "Murder is murder!"
"Well, let it pass," said Evers. "That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. It's my old lady out there. I swear to you on my honor—such as it is, that she never knew what I was up to. She thought it was smuggling, and no woman considers smuggling a crime, you know. She's sixty-three years old and has a heart complaint. Let her go."
"Why, I'll do what I can," said Jack, more and more uncomfortable. "But I can't tell what the trial may bring out."
"There won't be any trial," said Evers quietly.
"What——! You mean——?"
Evers merely smiled.
Jack half turned as if to call for help.
"Wait!" said Evers sharply. "Didn't I give you a good run for your money?" he went on with a genuine note of appeal. "And you've won. Can't you afford to be generous? Don't interfere. Let me pay my forfeit in my own way. The trouble with me was, I couldn't endure the tedium of a respectable life. But I am no quitter. I went into this with my eyes open, knowing the penalty. I was prepared to pay it at any moment."
"I won't interfere," said Jack in a low tone.