"
"But his name isn't on the passenger list. If I hadn't happened to see
him as he came on board, I'd probably not have known it at all."
"Perhaps he saw you at the same time."
"Then the fat's in the fire," I said. "If he knows I know he's on
board, then he also knows that I suspect him; if he doesn't know, why,
there's no reason for him to think that I'll find it out, unless he
appears in the cabin; which doesn't seem probable."
She sat silent for a moment, looking out across the water.
"Perhaps you're right," she said at last; "there's no use taking any
unnecessary risks. The thing appealed to me--I think I should enjoy a
half-hour's talk with him, matching my wits against his."
"But yours are brighter than mine," I pointed out. "You've proved it
pretty effectually in the last few minutes."
"No I haven't; I've simply shown you that you overlooked one little
thing. And I think you're right about the danger of going to Martigny.
Our first duty is to Miss Holladay; we must rescue her before he can
warn his confederates to place her out of our reach."
The unstudied way in which she said "our" filled me with an
unreasoning happiness.
"But why should they bother with a prisoner at all? They didn't shrink
from striking down her father?"
"And they may not shrink from striking her down, at a favorable
moment," she answered calmly.
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