Beneath the velvet of Leroy’s voice ran a note more deadly than any threat could have been. It rang a bell for a silence in which the clock of death seemed to tick. But as the seconds fled Reilly’s courage oozed away. He dared not accept the invitation to reach for his weapon and try conclusions with this debonair young daredevil. He mumbled a retraction, and flung, with a curse, out of the room. Leroy slipped the revolver back in his holster and quoted, with a laugh: “To every coward safety, And afterward his evil hour.” “What’s that?” demanded Neil. “I ain’t no coward, even if Jay is. I don’t knuckle under to any man. You got a right to ante up with some information. I want to know why you ain’t got them papers you promised to bring back with you.” “And I, too, señor. I desire to know what it means,” added Chaves, his eyes glittering. “That’s the way to chirp, gentlemen. I haven’t got them because Forbes blundered on us, and I had to take a _pasear_ awful sudden. But I made an appointment to meet Collins to-morrow.” “And you think he’ll keep it?” scoffed Neil. “I know he will.” “You seem to know a heap about him,” was the significant retort. “Take care, York.” “I’m not Hardman, cap. I say what I think. “And you think?” suggested Leroy gently. “I don’t know what to think yet. You’re either a fool or a traitor. I ain’t quite made up my mind. When I find out you’ll ce’tainly hear from me straight. Come on, boys.” And Neil vanished through the door. An hour later there came a knock at Leroy’s door. Neil answered his permission to enter, followed by the other trio of flushed beauties. To the outlaw chief it was at once apparent with what Dutch courage they had been fortifying themselves to some resolve. It was characteristic of him, though he knew on how precarious a thread his life was hanging, that disgust at the foul breaths with which they were polluting the atmosphere was his first dominant emotion. “I wish, Lieutenant Chaves, next time you emigrate you’d bring another brand of poison out to the boys. I can’t go this stuff. Just remember that, will you?” The outlaw chief’s hard eye ran over the rebels and read them like a primer. They had come to depose him certainly, to kill him perhaps. Though this last he doubted. It wouldn’t be like Neil to plan his murder, and it wouldn’t be like the others to give him warning and meet him in the open. Warily he stood behind the table, watching their awkward embarrassment with easy assurance. Carefully he placed face downward on the table the Villon he had been reading, but he did it without lifting his eyes from them. “You have business with me, I presume.” “That’s what we have,” cried Reilly valiantly, from the rear. “Then suppose we come to it and get the room aired as soon as possible,” Leroy said tartly.