"
"Do you know where this boat is bound?"
"Yes--Spanish Honduras; we are loaded with munitions of war," I laughed.
"I was to be a general down there."
"You!"
"Yes; swift promotion, was n't it! Our friend yonder promised the job;
all I had to do was to desert you, and join his outfit."
"And you consented?"
"With a mental reservation. It gained me a few hours' freedom at least,
and surely has done you no harm. Did you doubt me?"
"Oh, I hardly know. I was so miserable locked up alone, unable to even
learn where we were going, that I lost faith in everyone. You acted so
strange."
"I had to play my part. But you received my note?"
"Yes, and it helped me wonderfully, although even then I scarcely
comprehended why all this pretense was necessary. Surely you do not
believe this man is Philip Henley? that--that I have told you a lie?"
"No, I do not," I answered earnestly. "It is my absolute confidence in
you which has held me steadfast. He has shown me evidence of his
identity which would have convinced me under other circumstances--letters
and pictures; I will show them to you, for I know where they are kept in
the desk--but in opposition I had your word, and I believed in that. No
evidence would shake my faith in you, and I am certain now there is fraud
here--some devilish plot concocted to steal Judge Henley's fortune.
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