've been making a fool of me!" he cried fiercely.

"No, I have been considering the matter, Rattray."

"And you won't accept my offer?"

"Of course I won't. I didn't say I'd been considering that."

He stood over me with clenched fists and starting eyes.

"Don't you see that I want to save your life?" he cried. "Don't you see
that this is the only way? Do you suppose a murder more or less makes
any difference to that lot downstairs? Are you really such a fool as to
die rather than hold your tongue?"

"I won't hold it for money, at all events," said I. "But that's what I
was coming to."

"Very well!" he interrupted. "You shall only pretend to touch it. All I
want is to convince the others that it's against your interest to split.
Self-interest is the one motive they understand. Your bare word would be
good enough for me."

"Suppose I won't give my bare word?" said I, in a gentle manner which I
did not mean to be as irritating as it doubtless was. Yet his proposals
and his assumptions were between them making me irritable in my turn.

"For Heaven's sake don't be such an idiot, Cole!" he burst out in a
passion. "You know I'm against the others, and you know what they want,
yet you do your best to put me on their side! You know what they are,
and yet you hesitate! For the love of God be sensible; at least give me
your word that you'll hold your tongue for ever about all you know."

"All right," I said. "I'll give you my word--my sacred promise,
Rattray--on one condition."

"What's that?"

"That you let me take Miss Denison away from you, for good and all!"

His face was transformed with fury: honest passion faded from it and
left it bloodless, deadly, sinister.

"Away from me?" said Rattray, through his teeth.

"From the lot of you."

"I remember! You told me that night. Ha, ha, ha! You were in love with
her--you--you!"

"That has nothing to do with it," said I, shaking the bed with my anger
and my agitation.

"I should hope not! You, indeed, to look at her!"

"Well," I cried, "she may never love me; but at least she doesn't loathe
me as she loathes you--yes, and the sight of you, and your very name!"

So I drew blood for blood; and for an instant I thought he was going to
make an end of it by incontinently killing me himself. His fists flew
out. Had I been a whole man on my legs, he took care to tell me what he
would have done, and to drive it home with a mouthful of the oaths which
were conspicuou