oing to squeeze you, and I'm going to
make you squeal."

"You're going to--you're going to--you're going to--" said Voles. He was
the colour of old ivory.

"I'm going to make you go through this--"

"Here, d--n this nonsense--stop it--you fool, I'll smash you," said
Voles. "Here, open that door and stop this business."

"I told you I was going to make you squeal," said Jones, "but that's
nothing to what's coming."

Voles came to the table and put down his hat. Then, facing Jones, he
rapped with the knuckles of his right hand on the table.

"You've done it now," said he, "you've laid yourself open to a nice
charge, false imprisonment, that's what you've done. A nice thing in the
papers to-morrow morning, and intimidation on top of that. Over and above
those there's the papers. _I'll_ have no mercy--those papers go to Lord
Plinlimon to-morrow morning, you'll be in the divorce court this day
month, and so will she. Reputation! she won't have a rag to cover
herself with."

"Oh, won't she?" said Jones. "This is most interesting." He felt a great
uplift of the heart. So this blackmail business had to do with a woman.
The idea that Rochester was some horrible form of criminal had weighed
upon him. It had seemed to him that no man would pay such a huge sum as
eight thousand pounds in the way of blackmail unless his crime were in
proportion. Rochester had evidently paid it to shield not only his own
name, but the name of a woman.

"Most interesting," said Voles. "I'm glad you think so--" Then in a
burst, "Come, open that door and stop this nonsense--take that key out
of your pocket and open the door. You always were a fool, but this is
beyond folly--the pair of you are in the hollow of my hand, you know
it--I can crush you like that--like that--like that!"

He opened and shut his right hand. A cruel hand it was, hairy as to the
back, huge as to the thumb.

Jones looked at him.

"You are wasting a lot of muscular energy," said he. "My determination
is made, and it holds. You are going to prison, Mr. Filthy Beast, Voles.
I'm up against you, that's the plain truth. I'm going to cut you open,
and show your inside to the British Public. They'll be so lost in
admiration at the sight, they won't bother about the woman or me.
They'll call us public benefactors, I reckon. You know men, and you know
when a man is determined. Look at me, look at me in the face, you
sumph--"

A knock came to the door.

Jones took the key f