Renshaw the influence of her dreams of a castellated future with de Ferrieres， he regained the cabin. Satisfying himself that his daughter had retired， he sought his own couch. But not to sleep.
The figure of de Ferrieres， standing in the ship side and melting into the outer darkness， haunted him， and compelled him in dreams to rise and follow him through the alleys and by-ways of the crowded city. Again， it was a part of his morbid suspicion that he now invested the absent man with a potential significance and an unknown power. What deep-laid plans might he not form to possess himself of Rosey， of which he， Abner Nott， would be ignorant？
Unchecked by the restraint of a father's roof he would now give full license to his power. "Said he'd take his Honor with him，"muttered Abner to himself in the dim watches of the night； "lookin'
at that sayin' in its right light， it looks bad."第一章
The elaborately untruthful account which Mr. Nott gave his daughter of de Ferrieres's sudden departure was more fortunate than his usual equivocations. While it disappointed and slightly mortified her， it did not seem to her inconsistent with what she already knew of him. "Said his doctor had ordered him to quit town under an hour， owing to a comin' attack of hay fever， and he had a friend from furrin parts waitin' him at the Springs， Rosey，" explained Nott， hesitating between his desire to avoid his daughter's eyes and his wish to observe her countenance.
"Was he worse？--I mean did he look badly， father？" inquired Rosey thoughtfully.
"I reckon not exackly bad. Kinder looked ez if he mout be worse soon ef he didn't hump hisself.""Did you see him？--in his room？" asked Rosey anxiously. Upon the answer to this ****** question depended the future confidential relations of father and daughter. If her father had himself detected the means by which his lodger existed， she felt that her own obligations to secrecy had been removed. But Mr. Nott's answer disposed of this vain hope. It was a response after his usual fashion to the question he IMAGINED she artfully wished to ask， i.
e. if he had discovered their rendezvous of the previous night.
This it was part of his peculiar delicacy to ignore. Yet his reply showed that he had been unconscious of the one miserable secret that he might have read easily.
"I was there an hour or so--him and me alone--discussin' trade. Ireckon he's got a good thing outer that curled horse hair， for Isee he's got in an invoice o' cushions. I've stored 'em all in the forrard bulkhead until he sends for 'em， ez Mr. Renshaw hez taken the loft."But although Mr. Renshaw had taken the loft， he did not seem in haste to occupy it. He spent part of the morning in uneasily pacing his room， in occasional sallies into the street from which he purposelessly returned， and once or twice in distant and furtive contemplation of Rosey at work in the galley. This last observation was not unnoticed by the astute Nott， who at once conceiving that he was nourishing a secret and hopeless passion for Rosey， began to consider whether it was not his duty to warn the young man of her preoccupied affections. But Mr. Renshaw's final disappearance obliged him to withhold his confidence till morning.
This time Mr. Renshaw left the ship with the evident determination of some settled purpose. He walked rapidly until he reached the counting-house of Mr. Sleight， when he was at once shown into a private office. In a few moments Mr. Sleight， a brusque but passionless man， joined him.
"Well，" said Sleight， closing the door carefully. "What news？""None，" said Renshaw bluntly. "Look here， Sleight，" he added， turning to him suddenly. "Let me out of this game. I don't like it.""Does that mean you've found nothing？" asked Sleight， sarcastically.
"It means that I haven't looked for anything， and that I don't intend to without the full knowledge of that d----d fool who owns the ship.""You've changed your mind since you wrote that letter，" said Sleight coolly， producing from a drawer the note already known to the reader. Renshaw mechanically extended his hand to take it.
Mr. Sleight dropped the letter back into the drawer， which he quietly locked. The apparently ****** act dyed Mr. Renshaw's cheek with color， but it vanished quickly， and with it any token of his previous embarrassment. He looked at Sleight with the convinced air of a resolute man who had at last taken a disagreeable step but was willing to stand by the consequences.
"I HAVE changed my mind，" he said coolly. "I found out that it was one thing to go down there as a skilled prospector might go to examine a mine that was to be valued according to his report of the indications， but that it was entirely another thing to go and play the spy in a poor devil's house in order to buy something he didn't know he was selling and wouldn't sell if he did.""And something that the man HE bought of didn't think of selling；something HE himself never paid for， and never expected to buy，"sneered Sleight.
"But something that WE expect to buy from our knowledge of all this， and it is that which makes all the difference.""But you knew all this before."
"I never saw it in this light before！ I never thought of it until I was living there face to face with the old fool I was intending to overreach. I never was SURE of it until this morning， when he actually turned out one of his lodgers that I might have the very room I required to play off our little game in comfortably. When he did that， I made up my mind to drop the whole thing， and I'm here to do it.""And let somebody else take the responsibility--with the percentage--unless you've also felt it your duty to warn Nott too，"said Sleight with a sneer.