"
I sprang to my feet with an abrupt exclamation.
"How did the woman get here?" I cried. "I thought this place was
deserted."
"It is; I know every inch of it. No one lives here, but this female
person came in a small sailboat. I saw it tied up, not far from where
she is sitting."
"If women come here," I said, "I want to go, and you may as well get
ready to leave."
"I think," remarked Walkirk, "that it would be well not to be in too
great a hurry to leave. I know of no place where we are less likely to
be disturbed, and so long as these dry nights continue there can be no
pleasanter camping place. She may now be sailing away, and the chances
are we shall never see her again."
"I'll go and look into the matter," said I.
I walked over the ridge of the little island, and soon caught sight of a
female figure sitting on the sandy beach. Near by was the boat which
Walkirk had mentioned. As soon as I saw her I stopped; but she must have
heard my approach, for she turned toward me. I had come merely to make
an observation of her, but now I must go on. As I approached her I
turned as if I were about to walk along the shore, and as I passed her I
raised my hat. She was a lady of middle age, of a reddish blonde
complexion, and her hair was negligently put up under a plain straw hat.
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