"Can't you tell the story over again?" he asked.
"I'd rather not," I said, somewhat rudely. "I'm tired of it. It was
really only a small happening that I am afraid I expanded a little in an
endeavour to thrill Miss Herndon, and the story is now her personal
property."
"But the bare facts?" he growled.
"There are no bare facts," I replied. "I covered them with fiction, and
I think Miss Herndon is going to copyright the whole."
He took the remark as a direct refusal on my part to give him an outline
of the affair to satisfy his curiosity, and I felt elated at noting the
sudden glint of anger that appeared in the lustreless eyes.
The two girls stood silent for a moment while Leith and I surveyed each
other without speaking, then a Tahitian boy broke the awkward silence by
informing me that the captain wished to see me in the cabin, and I
hurriedly excused myself to the sisters and went below.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER III
A KNIFE FROM THE DARK
It was after nine o'clock that evening before I again saw young Holman,
and by that time Levuka was far behind.
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