It seemed
interminable. Then the door opened, and McMurdo appeared, his
finger upon his lip.
He came to the end of the table and looked round at them. A
subtle change had come over him. His manner was as of one who
has great work to do. His face had set into granite firmness.
His eyes shone with a fierce excitement behind his spectacles.
He had become a visible leader of men. They stared at him with
eager interest; but he said nothing. Still with the same
singular gaze he looked from man to man.
"Well!" cried Boss McGinty at last. "Is he here? Is Birdy
Edwards here?"
"Yes," McMurdo answered slowly. "Birdy Edwards is here. I am
Birdy Edwards!"
There were ten seconds after that brief speech during which the
room might have been empty, so profound was the silence. The
hissing of a kettle upon the stove rose sharp and strident to the
ear. Seven white faces, all turned upward to this man who
dominated them, were set motionless with utter terror. Then,
with a sudden shivering of glass, a bristle of glistening rifle
barrels broke through each window, while the curtains were torn
from their hangings.
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