I told Rattray every syllable that these traitors had been saying behind his back, but I told it all very ill; what was worse, and made me worse, I was only too well aware of my own failure to carry conviction with my words.
"And why couldn't you come out and say so," asked Rattray, as even I knew that he must.

"Why wait till now ?" "Ah, why!" echoed Santos, with a smile and a shake of the head; a suspicious tolerance, an ostentatious truce, upon his parchment face.
And already he was sufficiently relieved to suck his cigarette alight again.
"You know why," I said, trusting to bluff honesty with the one of them who was not rotten to the core: "because I still meant escaping." "And then what ?" asked Rattray fiercely.
"You had given me my chance," I said; "I hould have given you yours." "You would, would you?
Very kind of you, Mr.Cole!" "No, no," said Santos; "not kind, but clever! Clever, spicious, and queeck-weeted beyond belif! Senhor Rattray, we have all been in the dark; we thought we had fool to die with, but what admirable knave the young man would make! Such readiness, such resource, with his tongue or with his peestol; how useful would it be to us! I am glad you have decided to live him to me, friend Rattray, for I am quite come round to your way of thinking.

It is no longer necessary for him to die!" "You mean that ?" cried Rattray keenly.
"Of course I min it.

You were quite right.

He must join us.