Page:Henry rideout--The siamese cat.djvu/40

 him, so frank and so puzzled that the absurdity of it all overpowered him.

"Let me be honest, anyway," he continued, laughing. "I've not the shadow of any kind of business up here. I was heading for Europe, in general, and when you said the other evening that you were coming up,—why, I lied and came, too.…"

There fell a rather long silence. Below on the deck, the black fans of the coolies fluttered, brown legs stirred uneasily on the matting, a two-stringed riddle was wailing, and from be hind the ventilator-cowl a sing-song voice chanted an endless improvisation. Metallic thunder resounded along the ship, and a bare-foot Chinese boy pattered past, beating the breakfast gong with a skilful, rubbing stroke.

"We've been good friends for a time," said Owen, in conclusion, and then smiled. "It's best not to have been so on false pretences."