felt that I had some little power, but on land, more especially on the
lonely island toward which we were heading, that feeling of
protectorship which the sailorman has for his passengers would be lost.
If Leith knew the island, and it was evident that he had visited it
before, any villainy that he contemplated would be held in check till he
was ashore and in command of the expedition and I would be powerless.

I recognized that Holman's fears were without solid foundation. They
were transmitted through Barbara Herndon, but I also recognized that the
elder sister would hardly support the statements unless she had good
grounds for her anxiety. Her woman's intuition had branded Leith's
motives in bringing the Professor into the Islands as bad, and the
sallow-faced giant could not erase the impression. The actual reason for
trickery was a matter of speculation. Professor Herndon was wealthy; it
was his money that had fitted out the expedition, but how Leith expected
to benefit himself by treachery was more than I could tell. Still, try
as I would to fight off the impressions that Holman's tongue had fixed
within my mind, I was unable to alter the opinion I had formed of the
man the moment I met him. There was an atmosphere about the yacht that
was unexplainable. Try as I could to find legitimate grounds for fears I
could not. The Professor was a scientist who wished to study certain
things the whereabouts of which were known to Leith. Apparently the
Professor was satisfied with the bargain he had made. Leith, as the two
girls had informed Holman, had called upon their father at the Langham
Hotel in Wynyard Square, Sydney, and, after fascinating the old man with
his stories, had presented his credentials and made a bargain with him
which resulted in the chartering of the yacht. His former life was a
mystery that he guarded jealously from the probes which the girls had
skilfully endeavoured to use. It was clear that he had spent many years
in the Islands, but that fact is not one that is generally put forward