"I was given to understand
that the whole thing was to be but a hoax--that I was taking
part in a great practical joke that Mr. Divine was to play
upon his old friends, the Hardings and their guests. Until they
wrecked and deserted the Lotus in mid-ocean I had no idea
that anything else was contemplated, although I felt that the
matter, even before that event, had been carried quite far
enough for a joke.
"They explained," he continued, "that before sailing you
had expressed the hope that something really exciting and
adventurous would befall the party--that you were tired of
the monotonous humdrum of twentieth-century existence--
that you regretted the decadence of piracy, and the expunging
of romance from the seas.
"Mr. Divine, they told me, was a very wealthy young man,
to whom you were engaged to be married, and that he could
easily afford the great expense of the rather remarkable hoax
we were supposed to be perpetrating. I saw no harm in taking
part in it, especially as I knew nothing of the supposititious
purpose of the cruise until just before we reached Honolulu.
Before that I had been led to believe that it was but a pleasure
trip to the South Pacific that Mr. Divine intended.
"You see, Miss Harding, that I have been as badly deceived
as you.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78