Part 35 (1/2)

Frobisher looked at her searchingly, and she met his gaze for a moment, though a flush crept into her face.

”Well,” he said simply, ”he is a straight man.”

”And a friend of yours. But you will send him help at once?”

”First of all, tell me why you think it is needful.”

Geraldine spent some time over the explanation and concluded:

”You must see that their safety depends on their finding the provisions, and Mappin has had the caches made at the wrong places.”

For the next few minutes Frobisher sat silent, the smoke curling up from his neglected cigar, while Geraldine watched him in suspense.

”You have reasoned the matter out remarkably well,” he said, ”and it strikes me that you're near the truth. However, I don't understand how you led Mappin into making the dangerous admissions that gave you a clue; he's a brute, but I thought him a cunning one. Perhaps I'd better not inquire.”

Geraldine's embarra.s.sment was obvious and there were signs of amus.e.m.e.nt on her father's face.

”After all,” he resumed, ”when you play a game for high stakes with a man like Mappin, you can't be fastidious.”

”But what about the relief party?” Geraldine asked.

”I think the situation is serious enough to need one. I'll drive over to the Landing and see about it the first thing to-morrow.”

He got up, and as he reached the door Geraldine, following, put her arms about his neck and kissed him. Then she went past swiftly and vanished down the pa.s.sage.

The next morning Frobisher learned that Mappin had gone east by an early train and that there was not a man capable of undertaking a difficult journey into the wilds disengaged. Mappin had hired all the available choppers and packers and sent them into the bush to cut some lumber he required for his railroad contract. Frobisher could not determine whether this had been done with the object of preventing their being employed on a relief expedition, but it looked suspicious.

Being in a difficulty, he called on the owner of the sawmill and told him as much as he thought advisable.

”As it happens, I can help you,” said the lumber-man. ”There are two or three fellows on our pay roll whom we haven't much work for at present, though we'll need them later. They're good bushmen, and I might raise one or two more by sending up to our logging camp.”

”Thanks,” said Frobisher; ”it will be a favor. It's lucky I thought of coming to you.”

”Never mind that. I feel that I ought to help Graham out: he's an old and valued servant. But I don't see how you are interested in the thing.”

Frobisher smiled.

”It's one's duty to help a fellow creature who's in serious danger.

Then I believe I may call myself a friend of Allinson's.”

”There's a point to be considered. The most likely place to meet the party would be in the neighborhood of the food caches. You intimate that there's a risk of Allinson's missing them; but he must have a rough idea as to about where they are. As Mappin's out of town, wouldn't it be well to wire and ask him exactly where they were to be made?”

”On the whole, I'd rather get the information from Mrs. Graham. No doubt she knows her husband's plans.”

The mill-owner gave him a searching glance. He was a shrewd man and suspected that there was a good reason for his visitor's preference.

”Yes,” he said pointedly, ”that might be wiser.”

”There may have been some misunderstanding about the precise location of the caches,” Frobisher explained. ”Mrs. Graham will know where her husband meant them to be made--which of course is the most important thing.”