He could now
distinctly hear their conversation, though they were still at a
considerable distance from him. Cautiously he climbed a thick
cotton-wood tree, whose foliage completely screened him from
observation, and there awaited the nearer approach of Maxwell and his
confederate.
"Are you sure this is the island?" said Maxwell, when they had come
within hearing of Hatchie.
"This must be the one," replied Vernon. "We shall soon see whether it is
inhabited or not."
"With whom did the girl leave the wood-yard?"
"With a doctor who lives like a hermit on this island. I saw them from a
distance get into the sail-boat, and I asked a boatman for the
particulars."
"Who is the doctor?"
"Don't know. The boatman said it was an outlandish name, and he had
forgotten it. You mean to have the girl, do you?"
"I do, if possible."
"O, it's quite possible--nothing easier. You say the girl belongs to
you?"
"I do; did I not show you the bill of sale?"
"That might be a trick of your own, you know. It's a devilish queer
story.
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