Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/43

Rh trust him from the moment I saw him. He is swarthy, oily and persuasive; and utterly without principle. I am terribly afraid Chester will become entangled with him financially. Moniz knows just what this plantation of ours will be worth when the trees begin to bear, and he would like to obtain control of it. If he does that, we, after spending years on the place, shall only be squeezed out of it when the dividends begin."

Keith nodded understandingly. He had seen that sort of thing happen. Only he assumed the young idiot had slid further down the hill than Joan imagined, or he would not have allowed the makings of such an unholy crash, as seemed imminent, to arise.

"Have you any inkling of the business that took your brother over to Tamba?" he asked.

"Yes, and that raises still another complication," Joan said thoughtfully. "I have had nobody to discuss these things with, and perhaps Chester would think me indiscreet for speaking of it now, but I believe it can do no harm, and it is a great relief to talk over one's troubles with a fellow being. There are pearl oysters near Tao Tao. Chester is growing impatient waiting for the plantation to bear, and he is convinced that he might make a fortune more quickly at pearling."

Keith gave an unsympathetic gesture.