Page:Richard Marsh--The joss, a reversion.djvu/279

Rh I felt convinced that they were doing something they didn’t wish me to see, and which was highly desirable that I should see. I didn’t wait for Luke to finish. I just planted my shoulder against the door, and heaved. It leaped open. I had counted on the fastenings being rickety. There was Luke and the Great Joss with their hands full of papers and things which they had evidently just been attempting to conceal. The girl stood looking on, I took off my cap to her.

“Miss Batters, I wish to speak to your father in private. Might I ask you to leave us.” She went without a word. I turned to Luke. “Mr. Luke, go up on deck, and wait there till I come.”

There was an ugly look on his face.

“If you don’t mind, captain, I should just like”

“Do as I tell you, sir, or you cease to be an officer on board this ship.” He saw that I meant business; moved towards the door. “You needn’t trouble to take those things with you.”

“Put them down, you fool,” growled Mr. Batters. Luke put them down, and departed, not looking exactly pretty. When he had gone, pushing the door to I stood with my back against it. The Great Joss and I exchanged glances. He spoke first,

“You’ve a queer way of doing things.”

“I have. Of which fact your presence here is an illustration.”

“I’ve not shipped as one of your crew. I’m a passenger.”

“At present. Whether you continue to be so depends on one or two things. One is that you behave. You come from a place where there are some queer customs.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What I say.” He winced in a fashion I did not understand, causing me to surmise that the customs