"Oh, I do not attempt the impossible, Mistress Pemberthy."
"What will be the end of this—to you?"
"The gallows—if I cannot get my pistol out in time."
He laughed lightly and naturally enough as Sophie shrank in terror from him. One could see he was a desperate man enough, despite his better manners; probably as great an outcast as the rest of them, and as little to be trusted.
"That is a dreadful end to look forward to," she said.
"I don't look forward. What is the use—when that is the prospect?"
"Your father—your brothers—"
"Would be glad that the end came soon," he concluded. "They are waiting for it patiently. They have prophesied it for the last five years."
"They know then?"
"Oh yes; I have taken care that they should know," he answered, laughing defiantly again.