in red
ink. O'Higgins eyed it thoughtfully.

"That's your hunting ground," said the doctor.

"It's a whale of a place. Ten thousand islands, and each one good
for a night's rest. Why, that boy could hide for thirty
years--without the girl. She's my meal-ticket. What are those little
red circles?" O'Higgins asked, rising and inspecting the map. A film
of dust lay upon it; the ink marks were ancient. For a moment
O'Higgins had hoped that the ink applications would be recent.
"Been to those places?"

"No. Years ago I marked out an intinerary for myself; but the trip
never materialized. Too busy."

"That's the way it goes. Well, I'll take myself off. But if I were
you, I shouldn't warn Spurlock. Let him have his honeymoon. So
long."

For a long time after O'Higgins had gone the doctor rocked in his
swivel chair, his glance directed at the map. In all his life he
had never realized a dream; but the thought had never before hurt
him. The Dawn Pearl. It did not seem quite fair. He had plugged
along, if not happy, at least with sound philosophy. And then this
girl had to sweep into and out of his life! He recalled
McClintock's comment about Spurlock being the kind that fell soft.
Even this man-hunting machine was willing to grant the boy his
honeymoon.

Meantime, O'Higgins wended his way to the Victoria, mulling over
this and that phase, all matters little and big that bore upon the
chase. Mac's. In one of the little red circles the doctor had
traced that abbreviation. That could signify nothing except that
the doctor had a friend down there somewhere, on an island in one
of those archipelagoes. But the sheer immensity of the tract! James
Boyle was certainly up against it, hard. One chance in a thousand,
and that would be the girl. She wouldn't be able to pass by
anywhere without folks turning their heads.

Of course he hadn't played the game wisely. But what the deuce! He
was human; he was a machine only when on the hunt. He had found
Spurlock. In his condition the boy apparently had been as safe as
in the lock-up. Why shouldn't James Boyle pinch out a little fun
while waiting? How was he to anticipate the girl and the sea-tramp
called _The Tigress_? Something that wasn't in the play at all but
had walked out of the scenery like the historical black cat?

"I'll have to punish a lot of tobacco to get the kinks out of this.
Sure Mike!"

At the hotel he wrote a long letter to his chief, explaining every
detail of