ess he's going to scare those schooner men 'most out of their lives.
It's quite likely they won't keep anchor watch when they're lying snug
in a place of this kind."

Nasmyth managed to control his laughter, and went down to divest
himself of his draperies. When he came up again, George reported that
he had just seen Martial crawling up the schooner's cable, and in
another few moments what appeared to be a howl of terror rose from
the vessel. It was not repeated, and shortly afterwards Nasmyth went
to sleep.

Martial remained on board the schooner that night, and Nasmyth was not
surprised when he failed to appear next morning. Acton had come back
with his party when a man dropped into the boat astern of the
schooner, and pulled towards the _Tillicum_ leisurely. Everybody was
on deck when he slid alongside, and, standing up in his boat, laid
hold of the rail.

"I've a message for Mr. Acton," he said, holding up a strip of paper.

Acton, who took the paper from him, was a trifle perplexed when he
glanced at it.

"It seems that Martial didn't stay at that ranch last night as I
thought he had done," he remarked.

Mrs. Acton, who sat next to Miss Hamilton, looked up sharply. She was
a tall woman with an authoritative manner.

"Where is he?" she inquired.

"Gone back to Victoria," said her husband, who handed her the note.
"It's kind of sudden, and he doesn't worry about saying why he went.
There's a little remark at the bottom that I don't quite like."

George naturally had been listening, and Nasmyth saw his subdued
grin, but he saw also Mrs. Acton's quick glance at Miss Hamilton,
which seemed to suggest that she surmised the girl could explain why
Martial had departed so unceremoniously. There was, however, only
astonishment, and, Nasmyth fancied, a trace of relief in Violet
Hamilton's face. Mrs. Acton turned to her husband with a flush of
resentment in her eyes.

"I should scarcely have believed Mr. Martial would ever write such a
note," she said. "What does he mean when he says that he does not
appreciate being left to sleep in the woods all night?"

"That," answered Acton, "is what I don't quite understand. If he'd
hailed anchor watch loud enough, George would have gone off for him.
Still, we're lying quite a way out from the beach."

Then he remembered the man from the schooner, who still gripped the
rail.

"How did you come to get this note?" he asked.

"The man who came off last night gave it to th