"
Merriton's flushed face went a shade or two redder, and he took an
involuntary step forward. It was only the doctor's fingers upon his
coat-sleeve that restrained him. Then, too, he felt some anxiety that
this drunken fool should attempt to do the very thing which another
drunken fool had attempted three months back. He couldn't bet on another
man's chance of life, like he would on a race-horse!
"You'll be a fool if you go, Wynne," he said, as quietly as his
excitement would permit. "As my guest I ask you not to. The thing may be
all rubbish--possibly is--but I'd rather you took no chances. Who it is
that hides out there and kills his victims or smuggles them away I don't
know, but I'd rather you didn't, old chap. And I'm not betting on a
fellow's life. Have another drink man, and forget all about it."
Wynne took this creditable effort at reconciliation with a harsh guffaw.
He crossed to Nigel and put his big, heavy hands upon the slim shoulders,
bending his flushed face down so that the eyes of both were almost upon a
level.
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