Part 35 (2/2)

'I? Not I; I detest the sea! But Clara has' Everyone looked at Clara, who in her turn looked in naive bewilderment from me to her father

'Indeed?' I said, ent'

'Perfectly free!' said Dollo,' said she, 'and I saw no gold at all'

'Guarded,' I observed 'I beg your pardon; I mean that perhaps you only sahat you were allowed to see And, in any case, the fraulein has no expert knowledge and no responsibility, and, perhaps, no shares Her province is to be char, not to hold financial secrets'

'I have done my best to help you,' said the stepainst us, Davies'

'Oh, chuck it, Carruthers!' said Davies, in English

'He's insatiable,' said von Bruning, and there was a pause; clearly, they meant to elicit more

'Well, I shall draw ,' said von Bruning, 'in what sense?'

'It begins to dawn on me that you made fools of us at Bensersiel

Don't you res? I wonder if he feared our exploring propensities ht possibly lead us to Meratitude I thought I reeable to you'

'Yes, indeed; especially about the duck shooting! How useful your local man would have been--both to us and to you!'

'Go on,' said the co it out' And thinking it out I was in deadly earnest, for allforehead and asked myself where I was to stop in this seductive but perilous fraud To carry it too far was to court co

'What is he talking about, and why go on with this ridiculousabout this supper party, and the way it ca to complain of, I hope?' said Dollmann

'Of course not! Impromptu parties are always the pleasantest, and this one was delightfully iin!

Didn't you discuss us at Meest--'One would almost think you had been there,' said Dollmann 'You hing 'But, as I was saying, didn't one of you suggest--which of you? Well, I'm sure it wasn't the commander--'

'Why not?' said Bohme

'It's difficult to explain--an intuition, say--I am sure he stood up for us; and I don't think it was Herr Dollmann, because he knows Davies already, and he's always on the spot; and, in short I'll swear it was Herr Boh early to-morrow, and had never seen either of us It was you, sir, who proposed that we should be asked to supper to-night--for inspection?'

'Inspection?' said Bohme; 'what an extraordinary idea!'