He gripped the gloves suddenly with both hands, as though he were about to destroy them.
“Will there be a bobby to hear her scream?”
He leaned forward in his intensity.
“And what will she be when she comes out? And she won’t come out until Dercum’s ready. I will tell you what she will be, she will be what Dercum intends her to be.”
He looked at the Secret Service agent, his face covered with sweat. Then he continued:
“Do you think this fine English law will do her any good then?”
Walker came a step or two away from the window. He looked down at the boy. His face was composed, with that vague expression it always took on when his interest was very much awakened.
“Sir Henry Dercum,” he said, “will have some instincts of a gentleman.”
“If he has any instincts of a gentleman,” replied the boy, with a sudden energy, “he has kept them so far concealed. London does not know about this man. I have had him looked up. He was unspeakable in Hongkong. No members of the English colony came down to the boat to see him off, although he did represent the empire. But he is a clever beast; one can’t get at him.
“I wanted my solicitor to resist his confirmation as guardian, but he said I was not a party in interest.”