Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/78

66 chance to talk to you about it before, because it was no use alarming your sister."

Chester shot a quick glance of enquiry at the other.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing much," Keith replied. "Maybe it won't occur again, but the first night I slept here I had a bit of rough-house with one of the niggers. He crawled into my room in the middle of the night and tried to choke me. I'm pretty strong in the wrist so he didn't succeed. I wasn't worried about myself particularly, though. There's the girl."

Beneath the tan on his face, Chester had changed colour.

"I—I'm tremendously grateful to you, Keith, for what you've done. It makes me feel a skunk. Have you any idea which of the blacks it was?" "Probably the chap I heaved off the porch that day. Still, it was dark and I couldn't be sure."

Chester Trent's eyes narrowed.

"I've been a fool," he commented bitterly. "Great God, I've been a fool! I never stopped to think that sort of thing was likely to happen. Keith, it was one of two things. Either that devil Baloo wanted to get square with you, or some of them are after the pearls."

"The pearls! But they had no reason to suppose I had the things."