“We’re getting on,� he said. “We’ll carry high, Saidee, and go over the top of this cipher matter.�
She shivered slightly and drew her skirt about her knees. Her head turned toward the shore they had quitted. She attempted to pierce the gloom. It was opalescent and filled with strange lights.
“The police,� said she, “will miss this boat.�
“I’ll kick it out when we land.�
“Holland Yard will coöperate with Scotland Yard.�
“Let them. I’m going to take the cipher-key to Sir Richard, in person. He had no right sending MacKeenon on my trail.�
“You still have it, Chester?�
He rested an oar against his knee and drew out the package. “I’ve still got it,â€� he said. “Otto Mononsonburg left it in a safe place—for a German. There were three doors to take before this package could be gained.â€�
He glanced up into her eyes. To him they had hardened, despite her weariness. There was an eagerness there he did not like. Calculation had been foreign to her in the old days.
Replacing the packet and taking up the oar, he said: