The mail winked.
"All right, old fellow, you know the value of your skin, I see, and mark you don't make any mistake, for as certain as you make the least effort to give an alarm, you are a dead man; do you understand? If so, wink."
The man winked:
"That's all right," said the detective; and he released his hold on the man's throat.
The man kept his word. He was not a very nervy chap, and was terrified almost to death, as it was.
"What is your name?" demanded the detective.
"Why do you wish to know my name?"
The man spoke in a loud tone, when the detective said:
"Speak low, old man—very low, or you'll never speak again.
Now wink."
The man winked, and the detective said: