CHAPTER NINETEEN
Inside the main hut the skipper burst upon a little tableau that sent him hastily back with apologies in place of the hot inquiries he had prepared. Gordon and Mrs. Goring were standing in the middle of the hut, and the man's arms were holding the woman closely, while her face, upturned to his, glowed with a love that irradiated the place. They started at the intrusion; then, recognizing their visitor, Gordon called to him.
"Don't run away, Barry. I'm coming on board with you."
"Yes, wait a moment, Captain," Mrs. Goring rejoined. "I have something for you."
Barry returned, doubting the good of anything that might be for him. But Mrs. Goring took something from the table and went to him, smiling.
"There, Captain," she said, proffering the thing she had picked up. "You may have it now."
Barry took from her the picture of Natalie Sheldon that had been stolen from his chronometer case on the voyage from Surabaya. He stared at it, then at the giver, and from one to the other in a daze.
"How did you get this?" he stammered helplessly.