“She will be told that you are not there.”
“And how long do you imagine that that will satisfy her?”
There was a pause. They looked at van Tuiver, expecting him to speak. And so I heard once more his cold, deliberate voice. “We have done all we can. There can no longer be any question as to the course to be taken. Mrs. Abbott will not return to my home.”
“What?” I cried. I stared at him, aghast. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I say—that you will not be taken back to the island.”
“But where will I be taken?”
“You will be taken to the mainland.”
I stared at the others. No one gave a sign. At last I whispered, “You would dare?”
“You leave us no other alternative,” replied the master.
“You—you will practically kidnap me!” My voice must have been rather wild at that moment.