I stared at them an instant, before realizing what it meant.

Then I dropped the curtain.
"The mate is coming aboard," I said swiftly.

"You must go to your room; here is the key; lock yourself in, and only open when you hear my voice." "And you-- ?" "I must take care of myself; don't worry about me." She hesitated, yet the expression of my face decided her, and she held out her hand.
"I--I said I would do whatever you told me to, and here I am questioning the first thing.

Forgive me." Without so much as a glance at our prisoner, she opened the door, and, with a swift look about the outer cabin, disappeared..