The shock of the tragedy which had
taken place in so brief a space and so unexpectedly
threw me into confusion. I knew I was gazing at
the Princess, who was bent over her brother, and I
heard the weeping of Mademoiselle Trebizond punctuating
the deep silence which had fallen after those two
reports. There was some movement among the mutineers
which I did not understand, and presently I found that
Legrand and I were being marched to one of the cabins.
“Doctor, do you know anything
of this?” sounded a voice in my ear, and I was
aware that Holgate was speaking. “The treasure,
man, the treasure!” he added, seeing, I suppose,
some bewilderment in my face.
“No,” said I shortly; “the only
man who did is dead.”
“Very well,” said he sharply,
“I’ll deal with you when I have time,”
and he hurried off.
Our captors shoved Legrand and myself
into what had been the Prince’s smoking-room,
and gave us to understand that we were to be shot down
if we made any attempt to escape. The rest of
these pirates, I conceived, must be in full cry after
the spoils, for I heard the sound of the doors being
opened and the noise of voices exchanging calls and
sour oaths. Presently the door was thrust aside,
and the Princess and Mademoiselle were ushered in
unceremoniously by the foul-faced Pierce. They
were resolved to box us up in our prison until they
had settled on a fate for us.
The Princess was pale, but quiet,
in contrast with her companion, who was still in a
storm of sobs. She declared that she was doomed,
that she was betrayed, and in a breath vowed that
her Frederic would have saved her had he been alive.
She appealed to us in turn for aid, and called God
to witness that we were cowards and would desert her
and hand her over to death. In a word, she behaved
with that hysterical exhibition of nerves which I
had noted in her at the outset of our hapless voyage.
Princess Alix, on the other hand, was still and silent.
She made no attempt to calm her companion, and it was
as if she heard not those weak and selfish wailings.
Once her blank gaze fell upon me as it wandered, and
I was alarmed, so tragic were the eyes. I got
up, and put my hand impulsively on her arm.
“Princess,” I said in a low voice.
Her lip quivered. She hid her
face. I went back to my seat. Who was I
that I should intervene upon that infinite private
sorrow? No, the past was not for me; the future
faced me, pressed upon me, staring bleakly and cruelly
upon our condition. Was all over? Had we
to remain there, merely at Holgate’s pleasure
helpless victims to his will, sheep ready for the
slaughter that he destined for us? I swore in
my heart in that hour that it should not be not
without a struggle. I took God to witness in
my inmost soul that I would die before harm should
touch the Princess. No, all was not lost yet not
so long as we were free to move and breathe and think
intelligently.
But, if anything were to be done,
it must be attempted ere Holgate remembered us again.
He had placed the guard upon us, and he would not
turn his thoughts our way again until he had either
found what he was looking for or despaired of finding
it. How long would the search go on? As
I resolved the situation in my head, ideas began to
assume form in my quickening brain. In the cabin,
under watch and ward, were the two ladies, Legrand,
and myself. Lane and Ellison were elsewhere, if
they had not been killed by the mutineers, as I almost
feared. Also, there was Juliette, Mademoiselle’s
maid. What had become of her? It was not
death I feared for her. But the mutineers, it
was quite certain, would think of nothing but running
to earth the treasure for the present. The Prince
had successfully concealed it, but, of course, the
space on a yacht is limited, and it seemed as if in
time the discovery must be made. How long would
it be? But then came in a flash a disturbing
thought. They would abandon their hunt when the
light failed until the following morning, and the
interlude would direct their attention to their unfortunate
prisoners. If they found the treasure by that
time, it might be too late for us, but if they went
on till dark I thought I saw light at last
in these reflections. We must wait, and act as
soon as darkness fell.
One thing that gave me hope was that
our guards showed no special vigilance. I suppose
this was partly because we were considered to be safely
disposed of, and partly because they were interested
in the progress of the search. Now and then one
of them opened the door and glanced in, shutting it
again abruptly, to resume conversation with his companion.
We had been deprived of our weapons, and the outward
windows towards the deck were so small as to forbid
the possibility of escape that way, even had the intermittent
visitations of our sentries been wanting. Another
thing encouraged me, which was, that we were free to
talk unheeded. What could the communion of helpless,
unarmed prisoners matter? I glanced at Legrand,
who sat back, his eyes staring at the ceiling, his
arms folded, a deep frown bitten in his forehead.
“Legrand,” I whispered.
His eyes dropped to my level. “They will
be busy till dark. What about dusk?”
He stirred, and shifted towards me.
“Odd. I’ve been thinking the same,”
he answered in a low tone. “We may have
one more chance if we make it.”
“We must make it,” said I.
“I’ll tell you what it
is, Phillimore,” said he. “There’s
something we can’t do without, in our circumstances,
and I think I know where to find it.” He
rose, and opened a cupboard in the wall, from which
he brought out a bottle of brandy, some glasses and
some tinned foods. “There’s always
been some kept here,” he added. “And,
as I live, a knife, if only a jack-knife. Well,
she’ll do, man first to open the
tins, and then” He left his
meaning in the air.
When the tins were opened, I endeavoured
to persuade the Princess to eat. She refused
at first from lips of marble, but I used my authority
as a doctor.
“Come,” I said with asperity,
“you’re under orders here, Princess.
You must do as you’re told.”
Her lips quivered. “I will
try,” she said in a strangled voice.
Mademoiselle had sat up some time
ago and dried her tears. I think she had worn
herself out with that passion of weeping, and her nimble
wits began to flow again.
“You are right, doctor,”
she said. “It is well to eat, otherwise
we become weak. I will eat and then see what
may be done.”
“Bravo, Mademoiselle!”
said I. “That is spoken like a sensible
woman.”
“Yes,” she went on, “I
will try my eloquence upon them those beasts.
They will not harm me, if I speak to them. It
was Sir John before, and he was only a man, and clumsy.
I will sing to them, if necessary. I will charm
them. Have I not done it before?”
I wondered if the poor lady had any
guess in her mind, had any realisation at all, of
what human passions, let loose as upon that ship,
amounted to. She spoke as a child, as a vain and
hopeful child, boasting of her influence. But
it was the mood I wanted rather than the hysterical
state of tears. We ate, and drank a little brandy
and water, without interruption from without, and
turned once more to the thought of escape. The
search was still going on, as sounds that came to our
ears indicated, and slowly the room darkened with the
enveloping night. I could just see the Princess
across the cabin. Legrand whispered to me:
“They’re still hard at
work. We shall have our chance soon.”
Our plan was simple, if we could once
get quit of our guards. One of the smaller boats
lay on the starboard side, and, hanging outwards from
the davits, could, from the slant of the Sea Queen
as she lay on the rocks, be easily dropped and floated.
If we could lower her into the water and get the ladies
into her, it would be possible, under cover of the
darkness and the preoccupation of the mutineers, to
reach the island. Once there, we must, of course,
trust to our luck for food and shelter.
Legrand got to his feet and moved
noiselessly towards the door. The yacht was comparatively
still, and we could hear the lapping of the quiet
sea beyond the broken windows. I followed him.
“We have one jack-knife,”
I whispered in his ear. He nodded.
“And there are two men,” he whispered
back.
“Is the door locked?” He fumbled softly.
“I don’t think so.
They did not turn the key last time. But it’s
a question of who’s outside. If the body
of the mutineers are still there, we’re done.
If the two are alone
“They are alone,” I whispered.
“I can hear no noise. They’re hunting
elsewhere.”
“The darkness about suits us
now. Explain to the ladies,” he said under
his breath. “Let them be ready directly
we are.”
I went back to the couch and poured
out my story through the darkness. I spoke to
two shadows, and as I did so a hand moved in the air
and touched mine. I took it, and it was cold
like the snows in January. I pressed it softly.
“Be of good heart. I will
come back. And do not cry out.”
Even as I stole back in that critical
moment, my heart bounded, for I knew to whom the hand
belonged. Body of Love! should not I know it in
the grave? I reached Legrand.
“Ready,” I said.
“You take the nearest,” said he.
“A jack-knife carries farther.”
“I shall want it,” I said. “I
have only my fingers.”
“You shall have it,” he
said grimly. “One at a time. Fingers
or throat, mind you, and no noise. Have you got
your muscles back? You’re a strong man,
Phillimore, but, by heaven! all rests on your fingers.
And you have been wounded?”
“I could tear down the pillars
of Gaza at this moment,” I replied. “My
blood’s afire.”
“God be with us!” he muttered,
and slowly turned the handle.
The door opened inwards, and in the
darkness loomed a single figure. Legrand sprang,
and the two disappeared in a heap upon the floor.
I had leapt to one side and was feeling in the air
for my enemy, but my hands took nothing, nor could
my eyes make out any other figure in the gloom.
Presently something rose from the floor, and I heard
Legrand’s voice.
“He’s alone. There was only the one.”
“Yes,” I whispered back. “And
the mutineers are gone from here.”
Faint noises issued from below, acquainting
us in what direction the search had flowed.
“All the better,” said
Legrand. “The way’s clear for us.
Where are the women?”
I found my way into the cabin again
and called them in a low voice. “Give me
your hand,” said I to the first that reached
me. I recognised the tall figure. Mademoiselle
was petite. I conducted both through the
doorway, and the Princess stumbled and gave vent to
a little moan. It was the dead man. I pulled
her to me.
“Legrand,” said I, “you
must take Mademoiselle; she will not find her way
alone, and I must have an arm free.”
“I want two,” he growled.
At that moment a beam of light flashed
from the cabins across the way. Legrand gave
vent to a hiss of warning and moved off. I could
see his shadow for a moment, and then it was swallowed
in the blackness. He was waiting and watching
outside the cabin. The light streamed out in a
fan towards us, and revealed, in the opening of a
door, a man’s form, and even as it did, Legrand
struck. The man went down in silence, and Legrand
bent over and picked up the lantern which had clashed
to the floor. He stooped and examined the face
of his victim. Then he crossed to us, and on
my arm a hand was trembling like a leaf in the wind.
“Courage,” I whispered,
and I groped for Mademoiselle on the other side.
“It was the other man,”
said Legrand calmly. “I don’t know
what he did there, but we’ve got a bull’s-eye,
which is so much to the good. Come, let’s
get on.”
We passed down the corridor and through
the bare doorway to the deck. Here the breath
of the night blew softly on our faces. Legrand
moved along the bulwarks till he reached the davits
from which the boat depended. Standing into the
opaque blackness, he cut at the ropes above.
Presently I heard a splash. I did not offer to
assist, for he had the knife and the knowledge; the
two women were my charge. It must have been twenty
minutes that we waited there silently, deep in the
security of the darkness.
“She’s down,” said
Legrand in my ear. “It’s not a long
drop, but it’s a job for women. Do you
think you can manage it?”
“I’m going to try,”
I said, and I whispered to the Princess, “Will
you trust yourself to me? I must lower you into
the boat?”
“Yes yes,” she answered in
a low voice.
“Legrand,” said I, “you
go first. I’ll lower them, and then I’ll
follow.”
He made no answer, but slipped over
the railing, and presently his voice sounded softly
from below: “Now.”
I took the Princess’s hand from
my arm. “You must go,” said I; “Legrand
is awaiting you. If I put you over, can you hang
by the rope and lower yourself? He will catch
you.”
“Yes,” she said in the same voice.
I lifted her gently to the top of
the bulwarks and put the rope in her hands, and I
felt her go down slowly. I had faith in her, yet
I waited anxiously until I heard the voice below:
“Safe.”
I turned to where I had left Mademoiselle,
but my hands moving in the darkness encountered nothing.
She was gone.
What had become of her? I moved
a little way, and almost fell on my face over some
obstacle, which was soft and moved. I stooped,
and felt there on the deck with a sudden misgiving.
It was Mademoiselle Trebizond, who had gone off in
a swoon! What was to be done? I racked my
brains, and could not see any means by which she could
be lowered in that unconscious state to the boat.
I called out to Legrand softly, informing him of the
situation, and I heard an oath float on the air.
Suddenly a thought came to me and I leaned over.
“Wait,” I said, “I have an idea.
I will be back shortly.”
I had the bull’s-eye, and now
I turned it on and lighted myself back into the corridor.
In a flash I had had a thought as to what the second
guard had wanted in the cabin, and I retraced my way
to it along the deserted corridor, and found the door
open and the man’s body blocking it. I
stepped over this and threw the light about. I
had guessed it was the boudoir. I pushed
into the farther room, which had been Mademoiselle’s,
and a cry greeted me. I had conjectured rightly.
The second man had been set as guard on other prisoners.
Juliette ran to me quickly.
“Mademoiselle?” said she.
“Is safe,” I answered,
“but wants your help. Come.”
I cast the light on Lane. “Can you walk,
Lane?”
“Yes,” he said; “I’m fit for
anything.”
“Ellison?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, follow me. If you’d
known it, your prison was open for you. Be as
silent as you can. There’s no time to lose.”
As I issued from the doorway, I stopped
and took the revolver and cartridge-belt from the
dead man, and Ellison followed my example in respect
of the other sentry. We reached the deck without
a word, and I shut off the lantern. I called
to Legrand, and he answered.
“Hush!” he said.
“There’s been some one along here just
now. Be careful.”
I told him what had happened, and,
as there was no time for more words, stooped to find
Mademoiselle’s unconscious form. It was
not there!
Perplexed, I communicated my discovery
to my companions, and we searched in the dark for
some minutes. But it then became apparent that
she had vanished utterly. I heard Legrand’s
voice in warning below.
“There’s a light coming aft. Quick.
We can’t wait.”
I was fairly distracted, and knew
not what to do. It was plain that, if we lingered
there, we should be detected, and it seemed equally
plain that there was no chance of discovering Mademoiselle.
Some one who had passed that way had lighted upon
her unconscious body.
“Quick, man,” said Legrand. “All
will be lost.”
I ordered Juliette down the rope,
and as she protested, talking of her mistress, I told
her all would be well if she would only descend.
Thus reassured for she had understood but
imperfectly what had happened through her ignorance
of English she jumped on the rail alertly
and disappeared. Lane followed, and Ellison,
despite his wound, was lithe as a cat. Then I
mounted.
Heaven was a vault of darkness, and
the sea poured multitudinous small noises in my ears
as it rippled against the side of the Sea Queen.
There was visible but the loom of the funnel and the
stack of the state-rooms turning night into deeper
night. Noises now arose from the saloon and streamed
up to me. I put my hands on the rope, and then
a voice wheezed almost in my ear.
“I’ll lay it’s the doctor.”
It was Holgate, as civil and indifferent
as if he were greeting a friend on the quarterdeck.
I started and gripped my revolver tightly.
“It couldn’t be any one
else,” pursued Holgate; and now his bulk was
a blacker shadow than the empty blackness around.
“Got a little party down there, I dare say?
Well, now, I never thought of that, doctor. For
one thing, I hadn’t an idea that you would have
left a lady all alone in a faint. It wasn’t
like your gallantry, doctor. So I didn’t
tumble to it. But it’s no odds. You’re
welcome. I make you a present of your party.
Good-night, doctor.”
I slipped down the rope and reached
the boat ere this astounding speech was ended.
He was a fiend. Why did he torture us thus?
“Let her go, man,” said
I fiercely to Legrand. “He’s the Devil
in the flesh.”
The rope was overboard, and the oars
dipped. A lantern flashed from the side of the
yacht, and a trail of light spread faint over the quiet
water.
“Shall I give him a barrel,
sir?” asked Ellison respectfully.
“No,” said I shortly;
“we shall have enough to do with our barrels
presently. Besides, you wouldn’t hit him.”
The boat sped out beyond the channel of light.
“Good-night, doctor,”
called out Holgate. “We’ve got a little
business on, but when that’s over I hope to
drop in to tea. You’re not going far.”
No one answered, and the wash of the
water foamed about the nose of the boat as she turned
seaward.