“I’ll promise this,” replied Leonard, “not to say anything to Roake without first consulting you.”
“All right,” said Snags. “That’s satisfactory. I must own that I rather like you, and should hate to put an end to you. But at the call of duty I shouldn’t let my own feelings interfere.”
And he grinned at his own wit.
“Now I guess I’ll leave you. When the boss comes around, which may be to-morrow, and may not be in a month, you’ll know more of what’s going to be done with you. Until then I’m as ignorant as yourself.”
He turned to go.
“Wait,” said Leonard. “Would any sum of money be an inducement to you to get me out of here?”
“I am afraid not,” replied Snags. “Money wouldn’t amount to much if I should happen to get a rope around my neck.”
After a pause the murderer withdrew.
Leonard was left to his own thoughts, which were of a very confusing character. He was ignorant of the exact locality of his place of confinement, and was at a loss to conjecture the character of his captors. That they were lawless desperadoes of some sort he did not doubt, but beyond this his thoughts took no form.
He examined the apartment in which he was confined. The walls were of solid rock, and there was apparently no means of egress except the door by which Snags had just left, and this was closed securely, presenting a resistance evidently as solid and invulnerable as the rocks themselves. There was nothing for him to do but to await further developments.