He never doubted that she possessed courage, and she displayed it now.
"So," she said calmly, "you have come as an enemy."
"Not exactly; it didn't seem worth while. Though there's no doubt you betrayed us—Vane waited for the warning you could have sent—so far as it concerns our ruined interests in the Clermont, the thing's done and can't be mended. We'll let that question go. The most important point is that if you had recalled us, as you promised, Vane would now be safe and sound."
This shot told. The girl's face became less imperturbable; there was eagerness and, he thought, a hint of fear in it.
"Then has any accident happened to him?"
"He's lying in the bush, helpless, in imminent peril of starvation."
"Go on!"
There were signs of strain clearly perceptible in the girl's voice. Carroll was brief, but he made her understand the position; then she turned upon him imperiously.
"Then why are you wasting your time here?"
"It's a reasonable question. I can't get a tug to take me back until noon to-morrow."