Not a heart on the attic floor but thumped as the one-eyed man asked these questions. They had never thought of Charlie’s voice, which was about as deep as a full grown man’s!
A perfectly death-like stillness reigned for a moment. It was plain that Charlie was not going to trust his voice.
“Do not be frightened, Señorita,” put in the thin man. “You may speak without fear. Do not weep. Perhaps she did see something. It was not the ghost of the dead man who hanged himself in here, was it?” he added in a low voice.
“Hold your tongue,” said the other man. “Speak up, young woman. Have you no voice left? You’ll not have strength enough to run the car if you go on like this.”
A deep sob reached the ears of the listeners overhead.
Then the alarming thought came to Ben: How was Charlie to run the motor car in case the men insisted on his leaving first? Plainly, it was necessary to get rid of these men somehow. Then they would all make a dash, and he would crank up while Billie jumped in and started the car.
“I’ll have to hear the sound of your voice before I go,” insisted the one-eyed man. “I want to hear you give me your sacred word of honor to keep this little loan of your car a secret. If we find that you have told, and we’ll know it if you have, you and your family will regret it, that’s all. We know how to take our revenge, don’t we, Pedro? So speak up, young woman, and say the words. I promise——”
Another deep sob.
“Come, come. Hold up your head and let me see your face. Say, Pedro, look here; it doesn’t seem quite the same as it did half an hour ago, somehow. Strike a light!”
There was great but noiseless commotion in the attic! What if the men should lift Charlie’s veil!