Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/41

Rh "In the meanwhile, it is five days since your brother left you, protected only by a dog," he said at last bluntly.

"My brother has doubtless been detained," she replied, slightly less cordially.

"Precisely, Miss Trent," the man agreed. "I have no wish to alarm you, but the point I'm worrying about is, do you think he is still a—a free agent?"

Joan looked at him, round-eyed.

"It never occurred to me to doubt it," was her reply. "The weather has been perfect ever since he left, so nothing can have happened to the ketch. If he has not met with some accident he would be quite safe at Tamba, unless—" Her voice trailed off. Keith's eyes met hers.

"Don't tell me if you don't want to, Miss Trent," the man said, "but it is that 'unless' which seems to worry you most, if I'm any judge."

"I think my brother has been a—a little foolish lately," Joan replied, half reluctantly. "I believe he is really sound to the core, but for some time now he has been associating with a man whose influence has done him no good."

Keith had seen too many good men go wrong in those latitudes not to get an inkling of her meaning, but it seemed no moment for beating about the bush.