I am not
defending this woman from anything but unnecessary insults. If she has
deceived me I want to find it out. If you are Philip Henley, as you
claim to be, you must have evidence to prove it. Convince me that her
assertions are false, and you will not find me unreasonable."
"Gordon Craig, do you mean--"
I turned to her, steeling myself to look into her appealing eyes.
"I have been honest with you from the beginning," I Interrupted
abruptly. "Now, if I discover that your statements are false, the
inducements are all the other way. I am a soldier of fortune."
CHAPTER XXIII
THE SECRET OF THE VOYAGE
Henley laughed, the sound grating harshly on my nerves, yet I made no
movement of protest as he stepped silently back to his desk. I was no
longer afraid of the fellow, even although he might have a weapon
concealed in one of the drawers, for I knew I had drawn his fangs.
This open avowal on my part was sufficient to convince one of his
stripe that I was concerned only with my own interests. Whatever
suspicion he may have previously entertained regarding my relations
with the lady were now thoroughly evaporated. Assured in his own mind
that Philip had never been married, he was now easily convinced that I
had merely associated myself with a girl from the streets, whom I was
only too glad to desert upon any plausible excuse.
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