"No, no, Joe!" Alan kept the irate seaman back. "We'll deal with this gentleman in a better fashion. Sit down, Joe, while we talk it over."
Joe nodded, and sat down on a chair, which he placed directly before the door.
With a glare that showed he noticed and resented this action, Lestrange resumed his seat. He was too clever a man not to recognize that Joe's cunning would dislocate his plans. But he was evidently determined to fight to the last. At present he held his tongue, for he wanted to hear what Joe would say. He preferred, for the moment, to remain strictly on the defensive.
It was with a thankful heart that Alan Thorold realized the value of Joe as an ally. At one time he had really believed that Lestrange was truly Sophy's father, and although she would never have admitted the relationship, still it was satisfactory to know that the man had no claim on her obedience. The knowledge of Lestrange's falsehood cleared the air somewhat. For one thing, it proved conclusively that the Captain had come to blackmail the girl. His claim to be her father was doubtless made in the hope that she would accompany him back to Jamaica, and would give him control of her money. Failing this--and Lestrange had long since realized that there was no doing anything with Sophy in a paternal way--there remained the chance that, to preserve Marlow's memory from stain, she might buy his silence.
Thus Lestrange argued, and Alan, with his eyes on the man's expressive face, guessed his thoughts and answered them.
"No, Lestrange," he said, with decision, "you won't get one penny."
"We shall see about that," was the rejoinder.
"Of course. We are going to see about it now. You will be brought to your bearings, sir. Joe, you say that this man is Jean Lestrange?"
"Yes, sir. But may I ask, Mr. Thorold, how you know about the shark?"
"I have heard the story from his own lips, Joe. He claimed to be Achille Lestrange and Miss Sophy's father."