"I am afraid of him." He was looking up to the boughs overhead, but he suddenly glanced toward her and then quietly removed one of his hands and slipped it down to the book which was lying on his lap.

Sylvia took quiet note of the movement.
The book had been lying shut upon his lap, with its back toward her.
Garratt Skinner did not alter its position; but she saw that his hand now hid from her the title on the back.

It was a big, and had the appearance of an expensive, book.

She noticed the binding--green cloth boards and gold lettering on the back.

She was not familiar with the look of it, and it seemed to her that she might as well know--and as quickly as possible--what the book was and the subject with which it dealt.
Meanwhile Garratt Skinner repeated: "A deep fellow--Captain Barstow," and anxiously Garratt Skinner debated how to cope with that deep fellow.