Part 16 (1/2)

”You see that there's five chambers loaded, don't you, Mrs. Challoner?”

Mrs. Challoner turned the revolver upside down and looked at it helplessly.

”Five chambers loaded?” she asked innocently, unsuspectingly.

”Here,” broke in Mixley, ”let me show you.” And he counted slowly: ”One, two, three, four, five--all full, see?”

”Yes, five chambers,” Mrs. Challoner agreed.

There was a pause in which Mixley looked meaningly at McGrath; then he said:--

”And one chamber empty?”

”Oh, yes,” she acknowledged almost eagerly, as he placed his finger on it, ”there's surely one chamber empty--I see it now.”

McGrath hesitated, but Mixley went on:--

”Will you smell it please--just the end of it--the muzzle. What do you smell?”

Mrs. Challoner smiled faintly.

”A Fourth of July smell,” she ventured; ”gunpowder, of course.”

”Burnt powder, exactly, ma'am,” they said, and smiled, too. But McGrath had still another card to play.

”Look at this here figure on this here gun, will you, ma'am? Here--there it is. I want you to tell me what it is.”

”What is it, s.h.i.+rley?” asked Miriam, bringing it closer to the light.

s.h.i.+rley shook her head.

”I'd rather not.”

”Please,” asked Mrs. Challoner.

s.h.i.+rley peered at it. Finally she declared:--

”It's '.38,'” touching the gun lightly; ”the figures are '.38.'”

Mixley fell back admiringly.

”There now--no one can say we ain't been fair. You saw us take it from him; you examined it; and you told us what you saw. That's fair. You're fair and we're fair--see?”

”Yes. But what of it?” asked s.h.i.+rley and Miriam in one breath.

McGrath opened his eyes in mock wonder.

”Why bless me, didn't you know? This here Colonel Hargraves was shot by a bullet that came out of a thirty-eight calibre revolver. That's all.

We wanted to be fair.”