“Close on to six bells,” judged he, “by the way the sun’s shining on the water. Wonder where the boy can be? I’ve got to have a proper gam with him.”
“Why? Where ought he to be?” the doctor asked.
“He must have put back into port, after his little cruise with Laura, this morning. We sighted her, moored at her front gate, you remember?”
“H-m! You don’t suppose there’s trouble brewing there too, do you? I thought the girl looked upset, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t notice anything. What seemed to be the matter?”
“I thought she’d been crying a bit.”
The captain clenched his fist.
“By the Judas priest!” he exclaimed fervently. “If I thought Hal had been abusing that girl, I’d make it hot for him! That’s one thing I won’t stand!” He peered down the road with narrowing eyes, then got up and went to the front door. “Hal, oh, Hal!” he cried.
No answer. The captain’s voice echoed emptily in the old-fashioned hallway.