"You found the
woman's weakness--her love for the girl. You found the girl's
weakness--her pride and fear of shame. So you drove the one and
hounded the other. God, what a base thing to do! To tell the
girl was bad enough, but to threaten her with betrayal; there's
no name for that!"
Belding's voice thickened, and he paused, breathing heavily. He
stepped back a few paces; and this, an ominous action for an armed
man of his kind, instead of adding to the fear of the Chases, seemed
to relieve them. If there had been any pity in Belding's heart he
would have felt it then.
"And now, gentlemen," continued Belding, speaking low and with
difficulty, "seeing I've turned down your proposition, I suppose
you think you've no more call to keep your mouths shut?"
The elder Chase appeared fascinated by something he either saw or
felt in Belding, and his gray face grew grayer. He put up a shaking
hand. Then Radford Chase, livid and snarling, burst out: "I'll talk
till I'm black in the face. You can't stop me!"
"You'll go black in the face, but it won't be from talking," hissed
Belding.
His big arm swept down, and when he threw it up the gun glittered
in his hand. Simultaneously with the latter action pealed out a
shrill, penetrating whistle.
The whistle of a horse! It froze Belding's arm aloft.
For an instant he could not move even his eyes. The familiarity
of that whistle was terrible in its power to rob him of strength.
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