The Red Room by William le Queux

I had, I confess, allowed my anger to rise above my gorge. That action of mine in attacking Kirk was both ill-timed and very injudicious, for in an instant -- before even those frantic words had left my lips -- I found myself looking down the ugly black barrel of a big Browning revolver, that most effective and deadly of all man-killing weapons.

"Kindly release me, Holford," he said, rather hoarsely and with some difficulty, as my muscular fingers had closed upon his scraggy throat. "Come, this is all very foolish! Let me go! I have no desire to harm you," he added, quite calmly.