"Don't you think it's rather unwise to go out at night by yourself just now?"
Walker stared at him with his round blue eyes.
"What the devil do you mean?"
"Remember the knife the other night. You've got those fellows' backs up."
"Pooh! They wouldn't dare."
"Someone dared before."
"That was only a bluff. They wouldn't hurt me. They look upon me as a father. They know that whatever I do is for their own good."
Mackintosh watched him with contempt in his heart. The man's self-complacency outraged him, and yet something, he knew not what, made him insist.
"Remember what happened this morning. It wouldn't hurt you to stay at home just to-night. I'll play piquet with you."
"I'll play piquet with you when I come back. The Kanaka isn't born yet who can make me alter my plans."