Page:MacGrath--The luck of the Irish.djvu/304

 ton. She saw William drop the key into a pocket. There was nothing hasty about his movements; all was deliberately done ; and this very deliberateness held the other man in thraldom.

"I've got something here that belongs to you."

With an unexpected gesture William flung the chamois bag into Colburton's face. The thread snapped; the pearls cascaded to the floor and bounded and ran about.

William drew off his coat and flung it aside; and then Colburton knew that what he saw was made of solids. Trapped!

"Don't … don't kill him!" whispered Ruth. She could not stand any more horrors.

"Kill him? Not much! But I'm going to put the fear of God in his heart, believe me. …"

"Look out!" she warned.

William laughed as he leaped forward. Colburton succeeded in drawing the automatic, but not in leveling it. William gripped Colburton's wrist and shook it. The weapon fell near the bed.

"Pick that up, sister; it may come in handy later."

Ruth laid the automatic on the bed.

"Well, Handsome-Is, we meet again. You call yourself a white man!"

William struck, not with the fist, but with the palm. A clenched hand, used with the same force, would have knocked Colburton down. He was a rogue, but he was not a physical coward as is usual with men in his breed. But he knew that