CAPTAIN OF THE "SEAVENTURE"
53
The eyes of Mr. Barcus clouded. "See here, what's your little game, anyway? I'll be no party to a kidnapping or"
"It's an elopement," Alan interrupted on inspiration. "We've simply got to get clear of Portland by midnight."
"I'm on!" Barcus agreed. "God knows why I believe you, but I do."
"Now," Alan proceeded, "here's a hundred and fifty. Be ready for us in half an hour—ready to cast off the minute we come aboard."
"I'll be ready," Mr. Barcus agreed, and in a moment the feet of his employer drummed along the deck overhead while Barcus soliloquized: "I don't know your name; you haven't asked my price; if it wasn't for that smile of yours, my hair-trigger friend, I'd be less satisfied that this was my lucky day!"
