III
"Are you Heer Paasma?" I inquired from my distance.
The walnut nodded.
"Do you speak English?"
Out came the pipe. "Ja, a leetle."
"We're Miss Rivers and Miss Van Buren, from England. I'm Miss Van Buren. You have heard about me, and that Captain Noble left me his motor-boat in his will."
"No, I not heerd." A dark flush slowly turned the sharp little walnut face to mahogany.
"How strange! I thought the solicitor would have written. But perhaps it wasn't necessary. Anyway, I have all the papers to prove that the boat is mine. You did know poor Captain Noble was dead, surely?"
"Ja, I hear that."
"Well, if you'll put a plank across, we'll come on board, and I'll show you my papers and explain everything."