They will have seen our signals, and they can
hardly fail to sight the boat. When he is close inshore they are sure
to make a dash for it, and he hopes to get them off before the Indians
wake up to the game he is playing. There are eight men in the boat,
and, with eleven others to help, there shouldn't be much difficulty in
keepin' the savages at a proper distance."
"How soon--will he--reach the landing-place?"
"Huh, mebbe an hour; an' another hour for the home trip. He'll be
aboard for tea."
Boyle uttered that concluding statement a trifle too airily. Elsie,
for the first time in her life, knew what it meant to want to scream
aloud.
The dog was dancing about excitedly, and whining without cease. She
stooped and took him up in her arms.
"Please, Joey, be quiet," she murmured, her voice breaking with a
stifled sob. She turned again to Mr. Boyle, who sedulously avoided her
eyes.
"Did Captain Courtenay leave any message for me?" she demanded.
"Huh! Message! Why, he will be away only a couple of hours."
The chief officer's tone was gruff, conveying the idea that women asked
silly questions, but his gruffness did not hoodwink Elsie.
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