If you do they'll ask you to explain several
things, and then you'll look foolish. One crime doesn't excuse
another, and you'll find that out.'
With unerring insight, Jules had perceived exactly the difficulty of
Racksole's position, and it was certainly a difficulty which
Racksole did not attempt to minimize to himself. He knew well
that it would have to be faced. He did not, however, allow Jules to
guess his thoughts.
'Meanwhile,' he said calmly to the other, 'you're here and my
prisoner.
You've committed a variegated assortment of crimes, and among
them is murder. You are due to be hung. You know that. There is
no reason why I should call in the police at all. It will be perfectly
easy for me to finish you off, as you deserve, myself. I shall only
be carrying out justice, and robbing the hangman of his fee.
Precisely as I brought you into the hotel, I can take you out again.
A few days ago you borrowed or stole a steam yacht at Ostend.
What you have done with it I don't know, nor do I care. But I
strongly suspect that my daughter had a narrow escape of being
murdered on your steam yacht. Now I have a steam yacht of my
own. Suppose I use it as you used yours! Suppose I smuggle you on
to it, steam out to sea, and then ask you to step off it into the ocean
one night. Such things have been done.
Such things will be done again. If I acted so, I should at least, have
the satisfaction of knowing that I had relieved society from the
incubus of a scoundrel.
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