Part 35 (1/2)
”He produced a pair of binoculars from his coat-tail pocket, adjusted them, and raised them to his eyes.
”'H'm! What sort of ducks?'
”I looked more carefully, holding both hands over my forehead.
”'Surf-ducks and widgeon. There is one bufflehead among them--no, two; the rest are coots,' I replied.
”'This,' cried the professor, 'is most astonis.h.i.+ng. I have good eyes, but I can't see a blessed thing without these binoculars!'
”'It's not extraordinary,' said I; 'the surf-ducks and coots any novice might recognize; the widgeon and buffleheads I should not have been able to name unless they had risen from the water. It is easy to tell any duck when it is flying, even though it looks no bigger than a black pin-point.'
”But the professor insisted that it was marvellous, and he said that I might render him invaluable service if I would consent to come and camp at Pine Inlet for a few weeks.
”I looked at his daughter, but she turned her back. Her back was beautifully moulded. Her gown fitted also.
”'Camp out here?' I repeated, pretending to be unpleasantly surprised.
”'I do not think he would care to,' said Miss Holroyd, without turning.
”I had not expected that.
”'Above all things,' said I, in a clear, pleasant voice, 'I like to camp out.'
”She said nothing.
”'It is not exactly camping,' said the professor. 'Come, you shall see our conservatory. Daisy, come, dear! You must put on a heavier frock; it is getting towards sundown.'
”At that moment, over a near dune, two horses' heads appeared, followed by two human heads, then a wagon, then a yellow dog.
”I turned triumphantly to the professor.
”'You are the very man I want,' he muttered--'the very man--the very man.'
”I looked at Daisy Holroyd. She returned my glance with a defiant little smile.
”'Waal,' said Captain McPeek, driving up, 'here we be! Git out, Frisby.'
”Frisby, fat, nervous, and sentimental, hopped out of the cart.
”'Come,' said the professor, impatiently moving across the dunes. I walked with Daisy Holroyd. McPeek and Frisby followed. The yellow dog walked by himself.
XVIII
”The sun was dipping into the sea as we trudged across the meadows towards a high, dome-shaped dune covered with cedars and thickets of sweet bay. I saw no sign of habitation among the sand-hills. Far as the eye could reach, nothing broke the gray line of sea and sky save the squat dunes crowned with stunted cedars.
”Then, as we rounded the base of the dune, we almost walked into the door of a house. My amazement amused Miss Holroyd, and I noticed also a touch of malice in her pretty eyes. But she said nothing, following her father into the house, with the slightest possible gesture to me.
Was it invitation or was it menace?