“Give me your gun!”
The man handed over his six-shooter without a word, and Westerham placed it carefully on the floor.
“Now right-about!” he ordered, “and get the other men's weapons.”
The ruffian in the mask hesitated. “They will shoot me and you, governor,” he said thickly.
“You had better be shot at by them than by me,” said Westerham. “My aim rarely fails. Do as you're told.”
Westerham then turned to the other men. “All of you,” he said, “will have to give up your guns. If necessary, Captain Melun and I will see that you do it. However, I should recommend you to be quick. I warned Scotland Yard before I left London of what was about to happen here, and within a few minutes this place will be swarming with police.”
The men fidgeted uneasily and looked helplessly at Melun.
Melun wisely decided to assist Westerham.
“It's true,” he said, “and you'd better be quick.”
At this there was a good deal of grumbling, and one of the men cried out that they had been betrayed.