"In other circumstances..." began Blood. "Oh, but there! Ye'll
understand. The boat's waiting."
Yet with his foot on the first rung of the ladder, Lord Julian
hesitated.
"I still do not perceive - blister me if I do! - why you should
not have found some one else to carry your message to the Commandant,
and kept me aboard as an added hostage for his obedience to your
wishes."
Blood's vivid eyes looked into the other's that were clear and
honest, and he smiled, a little wistfully. A moment he seemed to
hesitate. Then he explained himself quite fully.
"Why shouldn't I tell you? It's the same reason that's been urging
me to pick a quarrel with you so that I might have the satisfaction
of slipping a couple of feet of steel into your vitals. When I
accepted your commission, I was moved to think it might redeem me
in the eyes of Miss Bishop - for whose sake, as you may have guessed,
I took it. But I have discovered that such a thing is beyond
accomplishment. I should have known it for a sick man's dream. I
have discovered also that if she's choosing you, as I believe she
is, she's choosing wisely between us, and that's why I'll not have
your life risked by keeping you aboard whilst the message goes by
another who might bungle it.
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