The detective meantime was quite confident; conscious of his
innocence he welcomed the inspection.
The wounded man opened his eyes and gazed around the room.
"Where am I?" he demanded.
Renie stepped to his side and said:
"You are in your own cabin, father."
The old man gazed around wildly at the pale faces gathered
around his bed; the detective was led forward and the old
smuggler's glance fell upon the stark face. Suddenly the
wounded man uttered a thrilling cry, rose up in the bed to a
sitting position, end pointing his finger at the detective,
demanded in a hoarse voice
"Why is he here? take him away!"
The group gathered around the bed were paralyzed to silence,
but after a moment the silence was broken by the voice of the
leader of the gang of lynchers who asked:
"Who is he, Tom?"
In clear distinct tones the answer came:
"The villain who struck me down!"
Renie uttered a scream, and oaths fell from the lips of the
men.
"Out with him! out with him!" came the cry, and oaths and
curses and shouts of vengeance filled the air.
The men started to turn the detective toward the door,
determined to hang him without further hindrance or delay.
The wounded man as he uttered the fatal words had fallen back,
seemingly into a dead faint.
It was a terrible moment; the maddened men had reached the
door with their prisoner when Renie called out in a frantic
voice:
"Hold! do not take him away, my father has a word to say to
him.
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