41 Lure O Gold 1904

The Lure o
Gold
and the whereabouts of the stolen treasure. It now
seemed to me doubtful that the rascals could have
brought the gold aboard. They might have exchanged
it
for paper money, in which case I should have little
chance of recognizing it, after all.
The Doctor and I sauntered along the steerage deck,
and on nearing the corner where the card-players sat I
stepped casually up to them and gave what I intended
for an incurious glance at the one-eyed man. He did
not see me for a moment, for his good eye
was on the
further side. His partner, however, was quicker to
note my presence. He started and dropped some of
his cards on the floor. He gave a slight cough, and
Pete Slattery s one eye looked straight
at me and with
as little trepidation as you could imagine. He must
have seen at a glance my look of full recognition. Yes,
he certainly was a cool customer the coolest I ever
have seen in all my journeyings.
"So you changed your mind," he remarked, with a
smile and an offhand tone
that I thought
would have
been the despair of a professional detective, though I
must admit that a smile that lacks an eye
is a poor
affair and not in the least assuring.
"You didn t sail
in the Flying Mist., after all. You
changed your mind/*
[94]