Page:Guy Boothby - The Beautiful White Devil.djvu/283

 But we must not be too impatient. There is plenty of time for her to put in an appearance yet."

Five minutes later Walworth came up the companion ladder and joined us. Alie turned to him. "I hope Captain Patterson thoroughly understood your instructions, Mr. Walworth?" she said.

"I wired to him to be here a week ago," Walworth answered; "he was to expect us to-day, but, in case of our non-arrival, to continue cruising about in these waters until the end of the month."

"Then we need have no fear," she replied confidently; "we shall sight him before very long, I feel sure."

We then fell to pacing the deck together, talking of the future and all it promised for us.

Half an hour later the lookout whom the captain had sent into the fore crosstrees to report anything he might see, sang out, "Sail ho!"

"How does she bear?" cried the skipper from the deck.

"Dead ahead, sir!" was the man's reply

"What does she look like?"

"A big topsail schooner, painted white."

"The Lone Star for certain, then," said Alie, taking my hand again.

As she spoke, the breakfast bell sounded and we went below to our meal. When we returned to the deck the distance between the two boats had diminished considerably, and we could make out the schooner quite distinctly. She was little more than five miles away now, and there could be no possible doubt about her identity. Then, as we watched, she went slowly about and next moment we saw a string of signals break out at her masthead.

Walworth took up a glass from the deck chair and