“Do you know him?” Hal returned eagerly.
Before they could answer, Joaquim appeared in the doorway, gesticulating to his master and looking quite perturbed.
CHAPTER XXVI
A FAMILIAR VOICE
“What is it, Joaquim?” asked the old man.
Joaquim’s tongue loosed in rapid-fire Portuguese for fully two minutes. Felice sat tense, her hands clenching the tablecloth and her face noticeably pale. And the old man, though apparently quite calm, had two patches of color that came and went at intervals in his bony cheeks.
When the Indian had finished Old Marcellus stood up, talked crisply in Portuguese, then dismissed the servant. That done, he turned to Hal.
“Just some visitors, young man,” he said courteously. “You will excuse me?”
“Of course,” Hal said smiling. “I’ve been taking up your time too long anyhow.”
“No doubt you feel fatigued still?” Felice asked in a strained manner.
Hal was not a little surprised but he managed to conceal it.