It was not necessary to land at the coast villages here, as it was
morally certain that the Phantom had not touched anywhere within
twenty or thirty miles of San Domingo, and she would hardly have
entered any of the narrow rivers at night. Nevertheless, they did
not pass any of these without rowing up them. When some native huts
were reached, Dominique closely questioned the negroes.
The pilot had, by this time, been informed of the cause of their
search for the Phantom, which had, until they left San Domingo,
been a profound mystery to him. Frank, however, being now fully
convinced both of the negro's trustworthiness, and of his readiness
to do all in his power to assist, thought it as well to confide in
him, and when they were together in the boat, informed him that the
brigantine they were searching for had carried off a young lady and
her maid from England.
"That man must be a rascal," the negro said, angrily. "What do he
want dat lady for, sar? He love her bery much?"
"No, Dominique, what he loves is her fortune. She is rich. He has
gambled away a fine property, and wants her money to set him on his
legs again."
"Bery bad fellow dat," the pilot said, shaking his head earnestly.
Pages:
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342