"No," said I shortly; "I could not prove it, even against him. I
have no witnesses."
"And you could not even go into a court of law," he pursued, "for you
are an outlaw, denied benefit of law or clergy."
"Yes," I flared in answer; "and you, sir, what think you might be
your fate in New York if I denounced you to Governor Burnet for
attempted murder! Would he make use of the opportunity--or no!"
The realization of this trump card I held had come to me in a flash
of inspiration. Now it lay face up for all to see, and there could
be no doubt it gave my enemies cause for uneasiness. Murray regarded
me thoughtfully; a worried look replaced the cynical satisfaction
with which de Veulle had watched my badgering; the bewilderment upon
Marjory's face was deepened.
"I do not think I am so weakly situated as you had supposed," I
mocked them. "Aye, you may denounce me to the captain for a Jacobite
conspirator, and it may be he will see fit to believe you. You are
three to my one. But when we reach New York, and I am brought before
the officers of the Crown, I may have a different story to tell.
Think you the governor would be loath to implicate a French officer
and the man who is leading the fight against his struggle to control
the fur-trade?"
Murray nodded his head slowly, and sank back in his seat.
"Sure, you are a lad after my own heart," he said. "That was well
thought of. 'Tis checkmate--for this present."
"Nonsense," stormed de Veulle. "Why should we fear his trumpery
tales? Who are we to be denounced by him?"
"Because I know somewhat of Governor Burnet," replied Murray
good-humoredly. "Nay, _chevalier_, I dislike to yield my point as
much as any man; but Master Ormerod hath stopped us. We must have a
truce."
But he reckoned without Marjory. The lady of the green cloak stood
forward in the center of the cabin, passionate indignation shaking
her whole figure.
"Oh, why do you talk like this?" she exclaimed. "Are we criminals
that we must bargain with a criminal? It is as if we were embarked
upon an enterprise as vile as his life of spying and intrigue!"
I had not made any headway in regaining her good opinion, 'twas
evident, and that must be the excuse for my barbed retort.
"You show unwonted sensibility, my lady," I said. "Sure, no men with
good consciences would stoop to bargain with such as I."
"I fear me, Marjory," said Murray gently, "that you have no
appreciation of the tangled path which must be trod by those who
concern themselves with affairs of state. The good and the bad are
strangely intermingled. Sometimes we must consort with those we
despise in order to gain a good cause. Sometimes we must use tools
which irk us to fashion a policy to a righteous end. Sometimes we
must stoop to tricks and plays which soil and shame.
"It can not be otherwise. And after all, what does it matter that
you and I have cause to regret, if we may see the attainment of our
goal? Shall we regret the payment of a bitter price? 'Twould be
parsimonious, I say. 'Tis not we who count, who are but pawns; but
the cause we serve."
"I like it not," she flamed.
"Like it or not, 'tis inevitable."
He turned to me.
"It seems then, Master Ormerod, that we must proclaim a truce for the
time being."
"It is your necessity," I told him flatly.
"And yours," he returned urbanely. "What guarantees shall we
exchange?"