Part 6 (1/2)
”Co,” said the officer ”I think that I may be able to convince you that Mr Divine is not on any such bad terms with Skipper Simms as would be the case were his story to you true”
As he spoke he started toward the co to the officers'
cabins Barbara Harding hesitated at the top of the stairway
”Have no fear, Miss Harding,” Theriere reassured her ”Re to prove it to your entire satisfaction You owe it to yourself to discover as soon as possible who your friends are aboard this shi+p, and who your eneirl ”I can be in no er one place aboard her than another”
Theriere led her directly to his own cabin, cautioning her to silence with upraised forefinger Softly, like skulking criminals, they entered the little co the bolt noiselessly as he did so Barbara watched hi rapidly with fear and suspicion
”Here,” whispered Theriere, eous to knohat goes on beyond this partition You will find a small round hole near the head of the berth, about a foot above the bedding Put your ear to it and listen--I think Divine is in there now”
The girl, still frightened and fearful of the man's intentions, did, nevertheless, as he bid At first she couldbeyond the partition but a confused lass, as of the touch of the neck of a bottle against a goblet For a moment she remained in tense silence, her ear pressed to the tiny aperture Then, distinctly, she heard the voice of Skipper Si, ”that there wan't nothin' else to be done, an' I' fault all the time with the way I been a-runnin' o' this little job”
”I' fault, Sinized ih I do think that it was a mistake to so totally disable the Lotus as you did Why, how on earth are we ever to return to civilization if that boat is lost? Had she been sied a little, in a way that they could themselves have fixed up, the delay would have been sufficient to per was returned in safety to her father, after our lad to be reunited that he easily could have been persuaded to drop the ; you intended to de andbeen stolen also--how can you do that if Mr Harding be dead? And do you suppose for a le stone unturned to bring the guilty to justice if any haruests? If so you do not know her as well as I”
The girl turned away from the partition, her face white and drawn, her eyes inexpressibly sad She rose to her feet, facing Theriere
”I have heard quite enough, thank you, Mr Theriere,” she said
”You are convinced then that I am your friend?” he asked
”I am convinced that Mr Divine is not,” she replied non-committally
She took a step toward the door Theriere stood looking at her She was unquestionably very good to look at He could not rereat desire to seize her in his arms swept over the man Theriere had not often made any effort to harness his desires What he wanted it had been his custom to take--by force if necessary He took a step toward Barbara Harding There was a sudden light in his eyes that the girl had not before seen there, and she reached quickly toward the knob of the door
Theriere was upon her, and then, quickly, he ht-out plan based on what Divine had told hirandparent which stipulated that the man who shared the bequest with her must be the choice of both herself and her father He could afford to bide his time, and play the chivalrous protector before he essayed the role of lover
Barbara had turned a half-frightened look toward him as he advanced--in doubt as to his intentions
”Pardon ,” he said; ”the door is bolted--letthe portal wide that she ht pass out ”I feared interruption,” he said, in explanation of the bolt
In silence they returned to the upper deck The intoxication of sudden passion now under control, Theriere was again , waiting game that he had deterh of Miss Harding to insure a place in her est that he was forcing hihtly, he assuhtful deference to her co conditions of her present existence ht entail too open devotion on his part And so he raised his cap and left her, only urging her to call upon hiht be of service to her
Left alone the girl beca ordeal of attee that Larry Divine, her lifelong friend, was the instigator of the atrocious villainy that had been perpetrated against her and her father She found it almost equally difficult to believe that Mr Theriere was soas he would have had her believe And yet, did his story not sound even more plausible than that of Divine which she had accepted before Theriere had made it possible for her to know the truth? Why, then, was it so difficult for her to believe the Frenchman? She could not say, but in the inmost recesses of her heart she knew that she ainst the rail, buried deep in thought, Billy Byrne passed close behind her At sight of her a sneer curled his lip
How he hated her! Not that she ever had done aught to harm him, but rather because she represented to him in concrete form all that he had learned to hate and loathe since early childhood
Her soft, white skin; her shapely hands and well-cared-for nails; her tri suit all taunted him with their superiority over him and his kind He knew that she looked down upon hi She was of the class that addressed those in his walk of life as ”my man” Lord, how he hated that appellation!
The intentness of his gaze upon her back had the effect so often noted by the observant, and suddenly aroused fro around to meet the nized him as the brute who had killed Billy Mallory
If there had been hate in theby co to hers as they rested upon his sullen face
So deep was her feeling of contempt for this man, that the sudden appearance of hile exclamation from her