"It would seem to me," said Captain Stewart wearily, "that since you are a prisoner here and very unlikely to escape, we know with great accuracy what you will do—and what you will not."
"Yes," admitted Ste. Marie. "It would seem so. It certainly would seem so. But you never can tell, can you?" And at that the elder man frowned and looked away. Thereafter another brief silence fell between the two, but at its end Ste. Marie spoke in a new tone, a very serious tone. He said—
"Stewart, listen a moment!" and the other turned a sharp gaze upon him.
"You mustn't forget," said Ste. Marie, speaking slowly as if to choose his words with care—"you mustn't forget that I am not alone in this matter. You mustn't forget that there's Richard Hartley—and that there are others too. I'm a prisoner, yes, I'm helpless here for the present—perhaps—perhaps, but they are not, and they know, Stewart. They know."
Captain Stewart's face remained grey and still, but his hands twisted and shook upon his knees until he hid them.
"I know well enough what you're waiting for," continued Ste. Marie. "You're waiting—you've got to wait, for Arthur Benham to come of age, or, better yet, for your father to die." He paused and shook his head.
"It's no good. You can't hold out as long as that—not by half. We shall have won the game long before. Listen to me! Do you know what would occur if your father should take a serious turn for the worse to-night—or at any time? Do you? Well, I'll tell you. A piece of information would be given him that would make another change in that will just as quickly as a pen could write the words. That's what would happen."
"That is a lie!" said Captain Stewart in a dry whisper. "A lie." And Ste. Marie contented himself with a slight smile by way of answer. He was by no means sure that what he said was true, but he argued that since Hartley suspected or, perhaps by this time, knew so much, he would certainly not allow old David to die without doing what he could do in an effort to save young Arthur's fortune from a rascal. In any event, true or false, the words had had the desired effect. Captain Stewart was plainly frightened by them.
"May I make a suggestion?" asked the younger man. The other did not answer him and he made it.
"Give it up!" said he. "You're riding for a tremendous fall, you know. We shall smash you completely in the end. It'll mean worse than ruin—much worse. Give it up, now, before you're too late. Help me to send for Hartley, and we'll take the boy back to his home. Some story can be managed that will leave you out of the thing altogether, and those who know will hold their tongues. It's your last chance, Stewart. I advise you to take it."