"Yes."
"Then you saw the soldiers. I had to do it. I couldn't allow this raggabash to take possession of the island. There may be casualties, but the shortest way is the most merciful—that's my experience. Sit down. Why don't you sit down?"
But the Governor went on walking and Stowell continued to stand.
"They say this rioting is the sequel to the escape from Castle Rushen. Only an excuse, of course, but that makes no difference. If we are to justify our administration of Justice in the eyes of the authorities across the water we must re-capture those runaways. The man—the guilty man in particular—must be locked up in prison. The Attorney and the Colonel will be here presently. You'll be able to help them to the personal description they want—nobody better—and then issue the warrant."
Stowell, who had been clutching the back of a chair behind which he was standing with a fixed stare, said in a quivering voice,
"I'm sorry, your Excellency. I cannot do that."
"Eh? Cannot do what?"
"I cannot issue the warrant for the arrest of Alick Gell for breaking prison because...."
"Well?"
Stowell swallowed something in his throat and continued .... "because I did it."