“We must not let Carter head off our game, now that we’re dead sure that he is on to Carney and the trick we served Dillon,” Margate forcibly explained. “He may be wise to even more than that, and we must warn Dillon and Esterveldt of their danger. We must put them on their guard against Carter, at least, until we can land them and get the blunt for the picture book. Better a small loaf than no loaf at all, now that Carter is butting into this game.”
“But he——”
“There’s nothing else to it, Larry, and we must lose no time,” Margate said, interrupting. “Come out here, both of you, and take my instructions. We shall be left on the rocks, stranded like three old hulks, if Carter gets in his work ahead of us. Come into the entry and take my instructions.”
There was a mingling of quiet energy and threatening determination in this man that told plainly enough that he would brook no opposition, nor did either of his confederates offer any. They followed him into the dim basement entry, where for several minutes the three knaves held a whispered discussion.
Patsy saw plainly that Margate was much the most capable and dangerous of the three. No less keen a knave would have suspected Nick’s ruse and laid such a trap for him, or an assistant. Patsy writhed inwardly under the turn of affairs, but was forced to admit that he was powerless for the moment, at least.
Listening intently, he could hear only the faint, earnest whispers of the men in the entry. These were presently followed by the hurried steps of Trent and Carney, when both ran up the stairs and quickly left the house.
Margate returned to the kitchen and resumed his seat. He drew a revolver and shifted it to the side pocket of his fashionable sack coat. He eyed Patsy in silence for several moments, with his thin lips curled with a sneer, and he then said deliberately, with ominous quietude:
“Now, young man, I’ll see whether you’ll become communicative. We’ll talk this over without interruptions.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Patsy coolly asserted. “I’m right here to do my share of the talking—if the subject suits me.”