This one for instance--what do you think you are going to gain by it ?" "What do you mean ?" Tudor stood by the table facing Piers, his attitude one of supreme indifference.

He seemed scarcely to feel the stormy atmosphere that pulsated almost visibly around the younger man.

His eyes behind their glasses were cold and shrewd, wholly emotionless.
Piers paused an instant to grip his self-control the harder, for every word he uttered seemed to make his hold the more precarious.
"I'll tell you what I mean," he said, his voice low and savagely distinct.

"I mean that what you've done--all this sneaking and scheming to get me out of your way--isn't going to serve your purpose.

I mean that you shall swear to me here and now to give up the game during my absence, or take the consequences.