“I can’t understand why you were so easy over the loss of the first ten thousand dollars,” murmured his wife.
“That was because I believed the whole matter would come out presently. I didn’t want to suspect Halstead, and I didn’t want to suspect young Oliver Dixon. So I didn’t know where the lightning might hit. Rather than stir up trouble I preferred to wait and see what the developments would be. Ten thousand dollars I could stand the loss of, if I had to, but sixty thousand——”
The “Restless” was kicking the water at a furious gait, now, but Captain Halstead groaned when he realized that the “Buzzard” had succeeded in taking her hull wholly out of sight.
“Mr. Tremaine, I’ll have to press you into service,” called the young sailing master, firmly.
“Yes; do give me something to do,” begged the charter-man, stepping up beside the wheel.
“The ‘Buzzard’ is now so far away, sir, that I’m not quite sure whether I can see her signal mast or not. Sometimes I think I do; at other times I’m in doubt. You might take the marine glass, sir, and see if you can pick up that mast and keep it in sight.”
“Indeed, I will,” breathed Tremaine, anxiously.
“Joe,” Captain Tom called down through the forward hatchway, “kick on every bit of speed you can crowd out of the motors. We’ve got to hump faster.”
“If I go much faster,” called Joe, dryly, “I’ll blow out a cylinder head.”
“Take a chance,” Halstead urged. “We’ve got to crawl up on that other craft.”