“Why?” said Wyndham, rather concerned.
“My dear fellow, if that got out—well, I don’t know what would happen.”
“Why, is it a bad place, then?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” laughed Silk with a mysterious wink. “All serene for follows like Gilks; but if it was known we’d taken you there, we’d be done for.”
Wyndham began to feel he had had a narrow escape of “doing” for his two patrons without knowing it.
“Promise you won’t tell anybody,” said Silk.
“Of course I won’t,” said Wyndham, rather scornful at the idea of telling tales of a schoolfellow.
“Thanks; and I’ll take care and say nothing about you, and Gilks won’t either, I know. So it’ll be all right. I don’t know what possessed the fellow to suggest going in there.”
All this was somewhat perplexing to Wyndham. He had never imagined Beamish’s was such a terrible place, or that the penalty of being found there was so severe. He felt that he had had a fortunate escape, and was glad Silk had put him up to it before he had let it out.
He became more friendly with his ally after this. There is always a bond of attraction where a common danger threatens, and Wyndham felt that, however determined he was not to be led away any more by these friends of his, it was just as well to be civil to them.