That talk opened Valdemar’s eyes to the dangers of his position. He had sense enough to see that it was a case of large-sized blackmail, and that any sum he paid would only be a lever for further extortions till he was bled white. He went off his sleep, and worried himself into a fever, for he couldn’t decide what his next step should be.
While he was still cogitating he got a second letter from Troth. Mr. Haraldsen need not trouble to come south, for the writer was about to pay a visit to the Norlands in his friend Mr. Barralty’s yacht. He proposed a meeting in Hjalmarshavn some three weeks ahead.
This screwed Valdemar up to the point of action. Alone on his island he was at the mercy of any g**g of miscreants that chose to visit him. His ignorance of the world made him imagine terrible
