"
"Right in my very teeth?"
"I--I hope you won't be _very_ angry, Mr. Tapp," Louise said softly.
"You see--we love each other."
"Love!" began I. Tapp. Then he stopped, turning the thick letter over
and over in his hand. "Well!" and he actually blew a sigh. "Perhaps
there is something in that. Seems to be. I set my heart on having my
fortune and my partner's joined by Ford and Dot Johnson--and see what's
come of it."
He suddenly thrust the missive into Louise's hand.
"Look at that!"
With a growing suspicion of what it meant she opened the outer envelope
and then the inner one, drawing out the engraved inclosure. Before she
could speak a commotion along the beach drew their attention.
"What can it be?" Louise cried. "The lifesavers!"
"And their gear--lifeboat and all," Mr. Tapp agreed. "Must be a
wreck----"
His gaze swept the sea and he seized Louise's arm. "There! Don't you
see her? A vessel in distress sure enough. She's drifting in upon
Gull Rocks. Bad business, Miss Grayling."
"Oh, there is Lawford!" murmured Louise.
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