There he saw a wide-eyed girl and a
man looking down upon them. He wondered if she was the
one they sought. There were other women aboard. He could
see them, huddled frightened behind Harding and Norris.
Some of them were young and beautiful; but there was
something about the girl above him that assured him she
could be none other than Barbara Harding. To discover the
truth Simms resorted to a ruse, for he knew that were he to
ask Harding outright if the girl were his daughter the chances
were more than even that the old man would suspect something
of the nature of their visit and deny her identity.
"Who is that woman you have on board here?" he cried in
an accusing tone of voice. "That's what we're a-here to find
out."
"Why she's my daughter, man!" blurted Harding. "Who did
you--"
"Thanks," said Skipper Simms, with a self-satisfied grin.
"That's what I wanted to be sure of. Hey, you, Byrne!
You're nearest the companionway--fetch the girl."
At the command the mucker turned and leaped up the
stairway to the upper deck. Billy Mallory had overheard the
conversation below and Simms' command to Byrne. Disengaging
himself from Barbara Harding who in her terror had
clutched his arm, he ran forward to the head of the stairway.
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