"Why don't you search me first?"
He was sure that his dangerous message was so skillfully sewed in the soles of his shoes they would not be discovered.
"I can search you afterwards," was the laconic reply.
He quickly tied the leather strap around his neck and threw the end of it over a limb. The touch of his hand and the rough way in which he had tied the leather stirred John Vaughan's rage to boiling point. All sense of danger was lost for the moment in blind anger. He turned suddenly and faced his executioner:
"This is a damned outrage, sir! Even a spy is entitled to a trial by drumhead court-martial!"
"Yes, that's what I say," the big, quiet fellow broke in.
"I'm in command of this squad!" thundered the lieutenant.
"I know you are," was the cool answer, "that's why this outrage is going to be committed."
The executioner dropped the rein and faced his subordinate:
"You're going to question my authority?"