His right
arm flew out and drew her to him.
"Sh-s-s-h!" he breathed, and pulled her behind a rock. Her woman's
heart yielded to dread of the unseen. It pulsed violently, and she was
tempted to scream. Despite his warning, she must at least have
whispered a question, but her ears caught a sound to which they were
now well accustomed. The light chug-chug of an engine and the flapping
of a propeller came up to them from the sea. The steam launch was
approaching. Perhaps they had been seen already! As if to emphasize
this new peril, there was an interval of silence. Steam had been shut
off. Philip touched the girl's lips lightly with a finger. Then he
lay flat on the ledge and began to creep forward. It was impossible
that he should run and warn the others, but it was essential, above all
else, that he should ascertain what the men on the launch were doing,
and the extent of their knowledge.
He found a tuft of the grass that clung to a crevice where its roots
drew hardy sustenance from the crumbling rock; he ventured to thrust
his head through this screen, following Domingo's example some hours
earlier. Almost directly beneath, his eager glance found the little
vessel. She was floating past with the current. He peered down on to
her deck as if from the top of a mast.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159