“If he wants you, why did he try to arrest Enoch?”

“He wanted to frighten him, more than anything else.”

“Burt Cromwell knows Cook is not to be frightened by a bluff.”

“He claimed Enoch was my accomplice in a little matter.”

“Oh, that’s the way the cat jumps, is it?” said Mike.

“Just about.”

“Might I ask what the little matter is, without giving offense?”

Kidd looked astonished.

“Perhaps,” added the dive-keeper, “you don’t care to trust me. Is that it?”

“Oh, no.”