From searching the likely places, he fell to searching the unlikely ones. His flashlight beam unexpectedly picked up the two of them—Pearl and McGruder—in a segment between the outcurving hull and the end-wall of the cabin-like structure containing their sleeping compartments. The narrow crevice between the corner of the straight wall and the hull made it an almost inaccessible retreat.
In the brief glimpse Marlin caught before McGruder turned his startled, snarling face toward the flashlight, the whole story was apparent.
McGruder had pursued the girl and finally cornered her. She was struggling to escape from his grasp.
The man cringed away from the light. "Get outa here!" he yelled hoarsely. "This don't concern you."
"No?" Marlin spoke with deadly intensity. "Take your hands off that girl."
"Says who?"
"I've still got the gun, McGruder—and I don't mind admitting that I've itched all along for an excuse to use it on your carcass. Let go, damn you!"
McGruder jerked the girl roughly around so that she offered a shield for his body.
"Come ahead—shoot!" he taunted.
Marlin pocketed his gun. "I'm coming after you."