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CHAPTER IX.
COMPOUND INTEREST.
Back to the Fire Again.—A Magnanimous Return.—Catching at Straws.—Two Total Strangers.—Purely a Question of Precedence.—"Hemmed in" and "Surrounded."—The Last Chance.
The Bank Manager looked across at Peter with an amused smile; he seemed quite friendly. Whether he was in Peter's cabin, or Peter in his, did not appear; and perhaps it was not of much consequence either way. If the cabin belonged to Mr. Perkins, he did not, at all events, appear to resent the intrusion.
"You seem rather put out about something," he said again, as Peter was still too short of breath for words.
"Oh, no," panted Peter, "it's nothing. There was so much bustle going on above, that I thought I'd come in here for a little quiet; that's all."
