"
"Yes," I muttered; "and what do his daughters say?"
"Say?" cried the youngster. "They can say nothing that will do any good
when they are talking to a madman. He sees Fame coming down the pike,
and he's blind to all the tricks of that devil. It's a fact, Verslun!
Leith is after the old man's cash--and after Edith Herndon as well."
I stood and looked at the youngster. His boyish face was aflame with
indignation, and any suspicions I had regarding his good intentions were
swept away immediately.
"After Edith Herndon?" I repeated slowly.
"Yes!" he gasped. "Oh, I knew you didn't like the big, sallow brute.
Miss Barbara told me how you turned him down cold when he wanted you to
repeat that yarn to satisfy his curiosity. He's a bad egg, do you hear?
He's out for trouble, and we're going to run into it head on before we
finish the trip. Only for the girls I would have stayed ashore at
Levuka."
"And the captain?" I questioned.
"We don't know about him," he snapped. "He's Leith's captain. I mean
Leith put him in his job when the Professor chartered the yacht. Anyhow,
he doesn't say enough to let any one know which side of the fence he is
on.
Pages:
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47