“Oh, no, I’m not. You’re quite mistaken about that.�
“If you do not—if you refuse the terms I shall offer you, I’ll——â€�
“Don’t say it, Mike.�
“Why not? Have I scared you for once?�
“I’m not one of the scary kind, as you know; and you’d only be indulging in another lie. You wouldn’t kill me; not now, at least.�
“Why not?�
“Because if you did that there would be no show at all for you to get something out of me, while on the other hand while there is life there is also hope. Eh, Mike? I am wondering how you ever scraped up courage to come here and face me, even though you know that I am physically unable to defend myself. Who is behind you in this affair, Mike? You never would have dared to undertake it alone; never at all if you had not been egged on to it by some one with a stronger will. It must have been a woman, Mike; men never had much influence over you.�
Red Mike moved uneasily in his chair, and shifted his legs; also he gave the subject a different channel.
“I took the trail of Henry Carroll, and kept it for two years after I found out what he was up to,â€� he said. “I was just about to fall on him when——â€�
“Well, why do you hesitate?�