FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105  
106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   >>   >|  
ou have a chance to be a free man--even if not a happy man--to stay here, and let your enemy, who sent you to this place, laugh and think how his plot against you has succeeded?" The dreamy look of weary resignation on Maxime Dalahaide's face changed to alertness. "Why do you speak of an enemy, and a plot against me?" he asked. "That poor girl was murdered; but I have never thought that she was killed because her murderer wished to involve me. That part was an accident. Liane Devereux----" "Is not dead," broke in Virginia. "She is on our yacht now, in the harbour of Noumea. When you come, and she sees you, she will confess the whole plot." "But I saw her lying dead--a thousand times that sight has been before my eyes." "It was not she. If you want to know all, to fathom the whole mystery, and learn how to prove your own innocence, you will not refuse to do what we ask." Maxime's thin face no longer looked like a carving in old ivory. The statue had come to life. The spring of hope had begun to stir in his veins. "If it were possible to prove it--at this late day!" he exclaimed. "But even if it were--you forget the tremendous difficulties in the way of escape. How could I reach your yacht? It could not come near enough to shore here to pick me up; even a small boat would be seen----" "Not at night," said Virginia. "Remember, it is moonlight. The night will be like day. Long before a small boat could reach the yacht from the beach she would be followed, overtaken, and not only should I be brought back, but I should have the misery of knowing that I had been the cause of bringing my brave friends into trouble. They would fire upon us. If I were killed it would matter little enough; but if you were to be shot----" He spoke to George Trent, but his eyes moved quickly to Virginia's face. "My sister would be waiting for us on board the _Bella Cuba_," said Trent. "Roger Broom and I will take jolly good care of ourselves--and of you, too, if you'll only give us a chance." "If you'd come here a month ago," sighed the prisoner, "before I got this wound in my back! Now I'm afraid it's too late. I've let myself go. I thought I saw the one door of escape for me opening--death; and instead of turning my back I walked toward it. I've let my strength down. I haven't eaten or slept much, and I began to have a pleasant feeling of slipping easily out with the tide. Now there's an incentive to stop, the tide's too strong
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105  
106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Virginia

 

chance

 

escape

 
killed
 
Maxime
 

thought

 
waiting
 

brought

 

sister

 

quickly


George
 

trouble

 

friends

 

overtaken

 

bringing

 
misery
 

matter

 

knowing

 

strength

 
turning

walked

 
incentive
 

strong

 

pleasant

 

feeling

 

slipping

 

easily

 
opening
 

afraid

 

sighed


prisoner

 

involve

 

accident

 

wished

 

murderer

 

murdered

 

Devereux

 

Noumea

 

confess

 

harbour


succeeded

 

dreamy

 

alertness

 

changed

 

Dalahaide

 

resignation

 
thousand
 

exclaimed

 

forget

 

spring