"Why?" she queried, lifting her wide, dark eyes to his.
"Can't you understand? Your father and his men will discover that you are not on the island, and they will suspect that you helped me out of the hut. What will your father do when he finds that out?"
A shiver swept through the girl's slight form.
"I suppose he will half kill me," she answered. "But I shall stay with him. I am his daughter, and it's my duty to be with him to the end."
"You mustn't be foolish," said Matt, inclined to get out of patience. "You're carrying your idea of duty to your father altogether too far."
"I've thought it all out," she answered firmly, "and my mind is made up. Please don't try to argue with me. It may not be possible for you to get away in the air-ship now," she added, with a sigh of regret. "If you can't, I will try and get you through the swamp. I don't know anything about it, though, after we get a little away from the island."
"Then," proceeded Matt, not giving up his argument that Helen Brady should go away with him, "your father will be madder than ever when he finds out you have taken the goods stolen from Hartz & Greer."
"That's what I expect, but it's right that the stuff should be returned. A person ought to have principles, Matt, and I don't think a person amounts to much if he or she can't stand a little suffering on account of their principles."
"That's right, too," muttered Matt.