42
Stateroom Six.
"Step this way. I'll show you where 'Ready' was killed."
We strolled to the gangway. He pointed to a little bullet hole in the casement.
"There were three shots fired. 'Ready' fired one and I—"
I looked up quickly into his patriarchal face. He paled, and fixed his eyes on me.
"I didn't mean to say so much, friend; but I believe you are a square man. This spot has a fascination for me. And it is twenty years ago, twenty—years—ago."
His head drooped. He seemed to be thinking of something beside what he uttered.
"I understand you," I said.
I pressed his hand, and went to bed.
