Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1936-09-18
CHAPTER z

CHAPTER z
Bennington laughed as tired man
laughs, without making an effort to
sound humorous.
"My dear man." he said, edo you
think was fool enough to give you
loaded gum"
Hawley did not bat an eyelash,
though he felt as if the deck had sud-
denly dropped from under him. He
thought fast, as only man can think
fast when his life is at stake.
"And do you think" he said, chat
I'd sit into a game like this with the
gun you gave me? Guess again,
Ben. And take close look at my
gum"
Bennington blinked little and
stared at the gun. He said thought
fully:
at looks like my gun, but there are
a million like it in the world. Perhaps
you are lying and perhaps you are
not. You had time to get another
gun and maybe-I said maybe-you
had sense enough.
His keen black eyes drilled into
Hawley's and the latter knew the
game was up. Bennington was an
actor and a good one. Hawley was
not.
Bennington smiled little and said,
81 have a loaded automatic in my
pocket. Unless you toss that gun
on the bunk-or drill me first-I'm
going to kill you. Make up your
mind, brother"
Oh, the man had nerve. Hawley gave
him all due credit. Bennington drop
ped his hand unhurriedly to his side.
There was nothing of fear or uncer-
tainty in his dark eyes. He was in
command of the situation and he knew
it.
Hawley shrugged and tossed the
automatic on the bunk.
cite him up, boys, Bennington
said again.
The two negroes moved into the
room. The lieutenant offered no re-
sistance. They did thorough job
and when they had finished he was ly
ing on the bunk, his ankles tightly
bound, his wrists tied behind him.
The black men went out. Hawley
looked across the stateroom at Ben
nington.
"Well, now that you've got me-"
he said, "what are you going to do
with me?"
Bennington closed his eyes. A shud
der passed over him and muscles
twitched around his mouth.
"God knows, Phil" he said slowly.
"It takes CUTS to kill man in cold
blood"
"More CUTS than to poison mans
whiskey?" Hawley snarled.
eyes. Much more"
"More CUTS than to put an uncon-
scious man into car, and throw the
car into gear, and jerk the wheel so
that the car runs down a pier and off
into the bay?"
eyes, more than that too." Ben
nington seemed to ponder for a time,
while he tapped the deck with the toe
,nf his shoe.
damn it, mani" he burst out. His
face was suddenly livid and his eyes
were pinpoints of black steel. "Can't
you see the fix Pm in? If you get
out of this, I'll go to the garrote. I
can't get out of the country. It's too
late now"
Hawley said with a bravado he was
far from feeling. "You can't expect
me to work up much emotion over
your problems"
Bennington said abstractedly: lies
Kennedy died in Colon. That means
the garrote if they get me! I could
stand hanging. It's a white mans
death But these damned spigs-use
the garrote."
He licked his dry lips and swal-
lowed with an effort. He raised his
hand and rubbed slowly across the
back of his neck. His voice was
hOarSe.
"They strap you to a post. They
put an iron collar around your neck.
They turn a screw at the back.
It bites into your neck, slowly. After
long time it breaks the spinal cord,
slowly, slowly" His voice trailed off
in a gruesome whisper.
He closed his eyes and shook his
head. He did not look at Hawley as
he reached up, took down the lamp,
blew it out and set it carefully on the
table. He closed the door very softly