Loge shrugged his shoulders.Then he said again: "Your real price?""What," said Cleggett, trying him out, "do you think of $20,000?" The other gave a long, low whistle.
"Gad!" he cried, "what crooks you bulls are.""It's not so much," said Cleggett deliberately, "when one takes everything into consideration."Loge appeared to meditate.Then he said: "That figure is out of the question.I'll give you $10,000 and not a cent more.""You want her pretty badly," said Cleggett."Or you want what's on her.""Why," said Loge, with an assumption of great frankness, "between you and me I don't care a damn about your boat.I think we understand each other.I'm buying her to get what's on her.""Suppose I sell you what's on her for $10,000 and keep the ship," said Cleggett, wondering what WAS on the Jasper B.
"Agreed," said Loge.
"Since we're being so frank with one another," said Cleggett, "would you mind telling me why you didn't come to me at the start with an offer to buy, instead of making such a nuisance of yourself?""Eh?" Loge appeared genuinely surprised."Why should I pay you any money if I could get it, or destroy it, without that?Besides, how was I to know you could be bought?"Cleggett wondered more than ever what piece of evidence the hold of the Jasper B.contained.He felt certain that it was not merely counterfeit bills.Cleggett determined upon a minute and thorough search of the hold.
"You'll send for it?" said Cleggett, still trying to get a more definite idea of what "it" was, without revealing that he did not know.
"I'll come myself with a taxicab," said Loge.
Cleggett rose, smiling; he had found out as much as he could expect to learn.
"On the whole," he said, "I think that I prefer to keep the Jasper B.and everything that's in her.But before I leave I must thank you for the pleasure I have derived from our little talk--and the information as well.You can hardly imagine how you have interested me.Will you kindly step back and let me pass?"Loge got to his feet with a muttered oath; his face went livid and a muscle worked in his throat; his fingers contracted like the claws of some big and powerful cat.But, out of respect for Cleggett's pistol, he stepped backward.
"You have confessed to making counterfeit money," went on Cleggett, enjoying the situation, "and you have as good as told me that there are further evidences of crime on board the Jasper B.You can rest assured that I will find them.You have also betrayed the fact that you planned to blow my ship up, and there are several other little matters which you have shed light upon.
"I am not a detective.Nevertheless, I hope in the near future to see you behind the bars and to help put you there.It may interest you toknow that my opinion of your intellect is no higher than my opinion of your character.You seem to me to have a vast conceit of your own cleverness, which is not justified by the facts.You are a very stupid fellow; a--a--what is the slang word? Boob, I believe."But while Cleggett was finishing his remarks a subtle change stole over Loge's countenance.His attitude, which had been one of baffled rage, relaxed.As Cleggett paused the sneer came back upon Loge's lips.
"Boob," he said quietly, "boob is the word.Look above you."A sharp metallic click overhead gave point to Loge's words.Looking up, Cleggett saw that a trap-door had opened in the ceiling, and through the aperture Pierre, who had left the room some moments before with the bartender, was pointing a revolver, which he had just cocked, at Cleggett's head.He sighted along the barrel with an eager, anticipatory smile upon his face; Pierre would, no doubt, have preferred to see a man boiled in oil rather than merely shot, but shooting was something, and Pierre evidently intended to get all the delight possible out of the situation.
Cleggett's own pistol was within an inch of Loge's stomach.
