Her
beauty was such as I had never seen equalled, and her imperious and
sometimes wilful ways only added to her indescribable charms.
It was now forced upon me that unless help came soon we must starve.
Our stock of fruit was almost exhausted, and scarce three quarts of
water remained in the tank. I had not been able to impress upon
Melannie the necessity for economy in our eating and drinking. She had
always been used to an abundance of simple fare, and, like a child,
lived for the hour, with no thought of the future. Van Luck had also
been in the habit of helping himself to what he wanted from our stock,
nor had I liked to interfere with him lest I might cause trouble. But
now I resolved to take a firmer stand with both my passengers.
To add to my anxieties I could see that Van Luck had been attracted by
the bag of jewels which Melannie had so imprudently displayed on the
night of our escape from the burning island. He was continually
watching it when his eyes were not employed in gazing across the sea,
and once I caught him creeping toward Melannie when she slept as if
with the intention of robbing her of the treasure. I spoke to him
roughly, and ordered him back to the fore part of the boat.
Pages:
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143