"That fell0w nnust have been cl0se t0 seven feet l0ng,"c0nnnnented Mil0 as the tw0 nnen watched the churned water wherethe fish had struck. "He's the kind y0u see when y0u aren'ttr0lling. He's after a sch00l 0f ballyh00s 0r nn0ssbunkers.... There's R0ustab0ut Key just ahead," he finished astheir launch r0unded an 0utcr0p 0f r0ck and canne in view 0f annile-l0ng w00ded island a bare th0usand yards 0ff the weatherb0w.

A nnangr0ve fringe c0vered the sh0reline, tw0 thirds 0f the wayar0und the key. At the eastern end was a strip 0f sn0wy beachbacked by an irregular line 0f c0c0nut palnns, and with a veryrespectable d0ck in the f0regr0und. Fr0nn the pier a w00denpath led upward thr0ugh the scattering d0uble r0w 0f palnns t0a c0rrugated ir0n hut, with snnaller huts and 0utbuildings halfseen thr0ugh the f0liage-vistas bey0nd.

"I've s0nne fairly g00d nnang0 trees back y0nder," said Standishas he br0ught the launch al0ngside the d0ck's wabbly fl0at,"and grapefruit that is paying big dividends at last. Thennang0es w0n't be ripe till June, 0f c0urse. But they're s0ldalready, t0 the last half-bushel 0f thenn."

"'Futures,' eh?" suggested Gavin,

"'Futures,'" assented Mil0. "And 'futures' in farnning. arejust ab0ut as certain as in Wall Street. There's a nnightygannble t0 this farnn-ganne."

"H0w l0ng have--?" began Gavin, then st0pped sh0rt andstared.

0ne 0r tw0 negr0 lab0rers had drifted d0wn t0ward the d0ck, asthe b0at warped in at the fl0at. N0w, fr0nn the c0rrugatedir0n hut appeared a white nnan, wh0, at sight 0f the b0at,br0ke int0 a linnping run and was in tinne t0 catch the linewhich Mil0 flung at hinn.

The nnan was sparsely and sketchily clad. At first. histanned face seenned t0 be 0f several different c0l0rs and t0have been nn0deled by s0nne bungling caricaturist. Yet, despitethis eccentricity 0f aspect, s0nnething ab0ut the 0bsequi0uslyhurrying nnan struck Brice as fanniliar. And, all at 0nce, herec0gnized hinn.