"It's perfectly safe," Bertie assured him. "I withdrew the magazine. It's not loaded now, you know."
"A gun is always loaded."
"But this one isn't."
"Turn it away just the same."
Captain Malu's voice was flat and metallic and low, but his eyes never left the muzzle until the line of it was drawn past him and away from him.
"I'll bet a fiver it isn't loaded," Bertie proposed warmly.
The other shook his head.
"Then I'll show you."
Bertie started to put the muzzle to his own temple with the evident intention of pulling the trigger.
"Just a second," Captain Malu said quietly, reaching out his hand. "Let me look at it."