"What do you know about him?"
She brought out the words almost reluctantly, as though half afraid of making some unwelcome discovery.
"I know very little at present," I admitted, "but I hope that by to-morrow we shall be much better acquainted. I have asked him to dinner with me this evening, and he will probably spend the night on the island."
If anything, my answer seemed to increase her misgivings.
"He is staying with you? He is going to sleep in the house?"
"Why, yes," I said. "There's nowhere else he can sleep, unless I put him in the kennel. That would certainly be the best place, but, unfortunately, my dog has taken rather a dislike to him."
In spite of her apparent anxiety the corners of her lips quivered into a smile.
"If you mistrust him so much, what made you invite him to the island?"
"I thought it would be a kind action," I explained. "I suppose you know that he has a special reason for being interested in my affairs?"
She looked at me curiously.