“I’ll get along with him all right,” Ben said, obviously expecting Penny to leave.
She refused to take the hint. Instead she said: “This man will either have to go to a hospital or stay here all night. He’s in no condition to walk anywhere.”
“He can have my bed tonight,” Ben said. “I’ll manage.”
The stranger’s intent eyes fastened first upon Penny and then Ben. But not a word of gratitude did he speak.
“You’ll need more blankets and food,” Penny said, thinking aloud. “I can get them from Mrs. Weems.”
“Please don’t bother,” Ben said stiffly. “We’ll get along.”
Though rebuffed, Penny went over to the bedside. Instantly she saw a bruise on the stranger’s forehead and a sizeable swollen place.
“Why, he must have struck his head!” she exclaimed, then corrected herself. “But he didn’t strike anything that we saw. Ben, he must have been slugged while aboard the Snark!”
The stranger turned so that he looked directly into the girl’s clear blue eyes. “Nuts!” he said emphatically.
“Our guest doesn’t seem to care to discuss the little affair,” Ben commented dryly. “I wonder why? He escaped drowning by only a few breaths.”