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Chapter 2 - THE HEAVY CHEST

Virginia and Sing were compelled to narrate the adventure of the afternoon a

dozen times. The Chinaman was at a loss to understand what had deterred the

pirates at the very threshold of victory. Von Horn thought that they had seen the

reinforcements embarking from the shore, but Sing explained that that was

impossible since the Ithaca had been directly between them and the point at

which the returning crew had entered the boats.

Virginia was positive that her fusillade had frightened them into a hasty retreat,

but again Sing discouraged any such idea when he pointed to the fact that

another instant would have carried the prahu close to the Ithaca's side and out of

the machine gun's radius of action.

The old Chinaman was positive that the pirates had some ulterior motive for

simulating defeat, and his long years of experience upon pirate infested waters

gave weight to his opinion. The weak spot in his argument was his inability to

suggest a reasonable motive. And so it was that for a long time they were left to

futile conjecture as to the action that had saved them from a bloody encounter

with these bloodthirsty sea wolves.

For a week the men were busy constructing the new camp, but never again was

Virginia left without a sufficient guard for her protection. Von Horn was always

needed at the work, for to him had fallen the entire direction of matters of

importance that were at all of a practical nature. Professor Maxon wished to

watch the building of the houses and the stockade, that he might offer such

suggestions as he thought necessary, and again the girl noticed her father's

comparative indifference to her welfare.

She had been shocked at his apathy at the time of the pirate attack, and

chagrined that it should have been necessary for von Horn to have insisted upon

a proper guard being left with her thereafter.

The nearer the approach of the time when he might enter again upon those

experiments which had now been neglected for the better part of a year the more

self absorbed and moody became the professor. At times he was scarcely civil to

those about him, and never now did he have a pleasant word or a caress for the

daughter who had been his whole life but a few short months before.

The Monster Men