The girl did not speak for a few minutes, and I made no attempt to break
the silence. Somehow I felt that her intuition had already told her that
I wished to speak about the happenings of the morrow, and her opening
remark proved that my surmise was correct.
"You will stay with the yacht, I suppose?" she questioned.
"I cannot say," I replied. "Captain Newmarch hasn't spoken to me about
the matter. Does your father intend to go far inland?"
"Father has just told me that the actual distance is not great, but the
travelling is very hard. It seems that it is only a few miles to the
spot where Mr. Leith says that father can see all the sights and obtain
all the specimens he desires, but those few miles will take us four days
to travel. There are all kinds of obstacles in the way."
"And you are not afraid?" I stammered. "You do not dislike the idea of
going?"
She lifted her head and looked me in the face, the big amber eyes
shining softly in the moonlight.
"I dread it," she said quietly. "It is foolish to say so, but--"
She stopped speaking and turned her face away from me.
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