“Can’t trust me?”
“Oh, yes, miss—but—”
Now the poor man had become so confused that he had allowed the handsome, irresistible young woman to take the letter. She tore it open, glanced at the signature, and said, “Oh, this is all right, it’s from papa’s former business partner. He wants papa to do nothing until he sees him. Well, I’m sure he won’t do much, poor dear.”
“Then you’ll be responsible, miss?”
“Oh, yes, I’ll be responsible.”
The pilot bowed again and ran up the ladder.
When the big ship crawled up through the fog, slowed again and picked up the Government trunk-riflers, a man threw up a lump of coal with a letter and a five-dollar note held to it by a rubber band.
“Keep the dough and give that letter to Landon,” the man called up to the deck-steward who had caught the coal.
When Miss Landon had opened this letter, which was from her father’s solicitor, whom she disliked, she laughed. “‘Do nothing until you see me.’ I never saw such a lot of do-nothing people.”
Now another tug came nosing up to the liner, as a herring noses about a floating biscuit, and up came another lump of coal with a note and a dollar. The note was addressed to Mr. Landon, and stated that the “Daily Broker” would like to speak to him. Miss Landon crumpled the paper in her hand, leaned over the railing and looked down upon the paper man who had his chin pointed at the funnels of the big boat.