Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Monster Men Edgar Rice Burroughs

Virginia and Sing were compelled to narrate the adventure of the afternoon a dozen times. TheChinaman 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 Singexplained that that was impossible since the Ithaca had been directly between them and the point atwhich the returning crew had entered the boats. Virginia was positive that her fusillade had frightened them into a hasty retreat, but again Singdiscouraged any such idea when he pointed to the fact that another instant would have carried theprahu 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 weakspot in his argument was his inability to suggest a reasonable motive. And so it was that for a longtime they were left to futile conjecture as to the action that had saved them from a bloody encounterwith these bloodthirsty sea wolves. For a week the men were busy constructing the new camp, but never again was Virginia leftwithout a sufficient guard for her protection. Von Horn was always needed at the work, for to himhad 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 offersuch suggestions as he thought necessary, and again the girl noticed her father's comparativeindifference to her welfare. She had been shocked at his apathy at the time of the pirate attack, and chagrined that it shouldhave been necessary for von Horn to have insisted upon a proper guard being left with herthereafter