"Why not?"
"I told you that if you desired my aid you must confide to me all the facts; you have refused, and I refuse to aid you to find the girl." The detective was testing the man, seeking to satisfy himself that the stranger really was the father of the missing Renie.
"Very well," said the stranger, "if you refuse to aid me, I shall prosecute the search on my own account."
"That is all right, but now let me give you a little advice; do not be found running around this coast unattended; your life is in danger."
"And I believe," exclaimed the stranger, "that you are the assassin."
As the man spoke he rose excitedly to his feet, and at the same instant, three men forced their way into the cabin.
A moment the five men glared at each other in silence, and a strange and weird scene was presented.
The strangers were determined-looking men, and, after a moment, one for them—who appeared to be the leader of the party—pointed toward the dead boatman, and said:
"A murder has been committed here?"
"Yes," answered the detective. "We found the old man lying here murdered, as you see."