Frank was the first to find his voice:
"Why, Mr. Barr, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed amazedly.
But if the boys seemed astonished Mr. Barr retained his usual
icicle-like attitude. Except that he was dressed in tropical white
and wore a huge pith helmet which set above his ill-favored features
"like a mushroom over a toad," as Billy described it later, he might
have just stepped out of his office on Wall Street, instead of from
a wheezy launch on a steaming subequatorial river.
"Good-evening, boys, a little late for dinner, I see, but I daresay
you can cook me something. After dinner I want to talk to you. I
have come a long way for the purpose so you can guess my business is
of importance."
"Of importance? I should say so;" sputtered the irrepressible
Billy. "Pray did you come by air-ship, Mr. Barr?"
"No, sir, I came in my yacht the Brigand. She is almost as fast as
a liner and as I came direct to this port I didn't take more than
half the time occupied by you boys on the voyage."
"You had a good trip?" asked Frank as Mr. Barr sat down and began
eating the hastily prepared meal which Ben served him.
"Yes, splendid;" said Mr. Barr, "we had one misfortune though. When
we were two days out my captain--a splendid man, boys--slipped on
the wet foredeck as the yacht was plowing through a heavy sea and
struck on his head on a stanchion.
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