“I’ll give them the half of all I have in the world!” broke in the old man with a little burst of tears.  “Tell them that.  The half of everything—­everything—­if they can get at the creature.  If they can find out.  But”—­collapsing suddenly, with his elbows on his knees and his face between his hands—­“they can’t, they can’t; nobody can!  It kills and kills and kills; and God help us! we all shall go the same way!  It will be my turn, too, some time soon.  I wish it were mine now.  I wish it had been mine long ago—­before I lost my bonnie own!”

“Takes it hard, poor old chap, doesn’t he?” whispered Narkom, glancing round and getting something of a shock when he saw that Cleek, who a moment before had appeared to be almost on the verge of tears, was now fumbling in his coat pockets, and, with indrawn lips and knotted brows, was scowling—­absolutely scowling—­in the direction where Captain Morford stood, biting his lips and drumming with his finger nails upon the edge of the washstand.  But Cleek made no reply.  Instead, he walked quickly across to the Captain’s side, stretched forth his hand, took up a tablet of soap, turned it over, laid it down again, stepped to the window, stepped back, and laid a firm hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“Captain,” he said suddenly, in sharp, crisp tones, that sounded painfully harsh after the old man’s broken cries, “Captain, there’s a little game of cards called ‘Bluff,’ and it’s an excellent amusement if you don’t get caught at it.  We shan’t have to go any further with the search for clues in this case; but I think I shall have to ask you, my friend, a few little questions in private, and in the interests of a gentleman called Jack Ketch!”

This unexpected outburst produced something like a panic.  Miss Comstock, hearing the words, cried out, put both hands to her temples, as though her head were reeling; old Mr. Harmstead straightened suddenly and flung a look of blank amazement across the room; and the Captain, twitching away from the man who gripped him, went first deathly white and then red as any beet.

“Good God!” he gulped.  “You—­I—­Look here, I say now, what does this mean?  What the dickens are you talking about?”

“Bluff, Captain!  Simply ’bluff’!” responded Cleek serenely.  “And as I said before, it’s a clever little game.  Stand where you are—­keep an eye on him, Mr. Narkom.  What I’ve got to say to you, my friend, we’ll talk about in private, and after I have assisted Miss Comstock to lead her uncle out of the room.”

With that he swung away from the Captain’s side and went over to that of the old man.

“Come, Mr. Harmstead, let me help you to rise,” he began; then stopped as the old man put up a knotted and twisted hand in supplication and protested agitatedly:  “But—­but, sir, I do not want to go.  Good Heaven!  What can you be hinting against that poor, dear boy?  Surely you do not mean—­you cannot mean—­”