"Why should she wait all that time?" asked Christy. "Her commander knew nothing about the Ionian, that she was to take in a valuable cargo for her, and she will not wait for her."
"That is true; but I am afraid we shall miss the Ovidio if we remain too long in these waters."
"It seems to me that the Dornoch has had time enough to reach the Bermudas," said Christy. "Possibly she is in port at this moment."
"That is a hara.s.sing reflection!" exclaimed the commander.
"I don"t see that there is any help for it," added Christy. "You cannot go into the port of St. George"s to see if she is there."
"Why not?" asked Mr. Gilfleur, speaking for the first time. "I spent a winter there when I was sick from over-work and exposure; and I know all about the islands."
"That will not help me, Mr. Gilfleur," said the captain, with a smile at what he considered the simplicity of the Frenchman.
"But why can you not go in and see if the Dornoch is there?" inquired the detective.
"Because if I learned that she was about to leave the port, the authorities would not let me sail till twenty-four hours after she had gone."
"You need not wait till she gets ready to leave," suggested the Frenchman.
"She might be ready to sail at the very time I arrived, and then I should lose her. Oh, no; I prefer to take my chance at a marine league from the sh.o.r.e," added the captain, shaking his head.
"Perhaps I might go into Hamilton harbor and obtain the information you need," suggested Mr. Gilfleur, looking very earnest, as though he was thinking of something.
"You!" exclaimed Captain Chantor, looking at him with amazement. "How could you go in without going in the ship?"
"You know that I have a boat on deck," replied the detective quietly.
"But you are not a sailor, sir."
"No, I am not a sailor; but I am a boatman. After I had worked up the biggest case in all my life in Paris,--one that required me to go to London seven times,--I was sick when the bank-robbers were convicted, and the excitement was over. The doctors ordered me to spend the winter in Martinique, and I went to the Bermudas in an English steamer, where I was to take another for my destination; but I liked the islands so well that I remained there all the winter. My princ.i.p.al amus.e.m.e.nt was boating; and I learned the whole art to perfection. I used to go through the openings in the reefs, and sail out of sight of land. I had a boat like the one on deck."
"Your experience is interesting, but I do not see how it will profit me," said the captain.
"I can go to the Bermudas, obtain the information you want, and return to the Chateaugay," replied Mr. Gilfleur rather impatiently.
"That would be a risky cruise for you, my friend," suggested Captain Chantor, shaking his head in a deprecatory manner.
"I don"t think so. I have been outside the reefs many times when the wind blew a gale, and I felt as safe in my boat as I do on board of this ship," said the detective earnestly.
"How would you manage the matter?" asked the commander, beginning to be interested in the project.
"You shall run to the south of the islands, or rather to the south-west, in the night, with all your lights put out, and let me embark there in my boat. You will give me a compa.s.s, and I have a sail in the boat. I shall steer to the north-east, and I shall soon see Gibbs Hill light. By that I can make the point on the coast I wish to reach, which is Hogfish Cut. I have been through it twenty times. Once inside the reefs I shall have no difficulty in reaching Hamilton harbor. Then I will take a carriage to St. George"s. If I find the Dornoch in the harbor, I will come out the same way I went in, and you will pick me up."
"That looks more practicable than I supposed it could be," added Captain Chantor.
"While I am absent you will be attending to your duty as commander of the Chateaugay, for you will still be on the lookout for your prize,"
continued the versatile Frenchman. "You can run up twenty or thirty miles to the northward, on the east side of the islands, where all large vessels have to go in."
"How long will it take you to carry out this enterprise, Mr. Gilfleur?"
"Not more than two days; perhaps less time. Do you consent?"
"I will consider it, and give you an answer to-morrow morning," replied Captain Chantor.
"Won"t you take me with you, Mr. Gilfleur?" asked Christy, who was much pleased with the idea of such an excursion.
"I should be very happy to have your company, Mr. Pa.s.sford," replied the detective very promptly, and with a smile on his face which revealed his own satisfaction.
"Are you in earnest, Lieutenant Pa.s.sford?" demanded the commander, looking with astonishment at his pa.s.senger.
"Of course I am: I see no difficulty in the enterprise," replied Christy. "I have had a good deal of experience in sailboats myself, and I do not believe I should be an enc.u.mbrance to Mr. Gilfleur; and I may be of some service to him."
"You would be of very great service to me, for you know all about ships, and I do not," the detective added.
"Just as you please, Mr. Pa.s.sford. You are not under my orders, for you are not attached to the ship," said the captain.
The commander went on deck, and the two pa.s.sengers retired to Christy"s stateroom, where they discussed the enterprise for a couple of hours.
In the mean time the Chateaugay was making her best speed, for Captain Chantor did not wish to lose any of his chances by being too late; and he believed that the Dornoch must be fully due at the Bermudas. Before he turned in that night he had altered the course of the ship half a point more to the southward, for he had decided to accept the offer of Mr. Gilfleur; and he wished to go to the west of the islands instead of the east, as he had given out the course at noon.
For two days more the Chateaugay continued on her voyage. At noon the second day he found his ship was directly west of the southern part of the Bermudas, and but fifty miles from them. He shaped his course so as to be at the south of them that night.
CHAPTER VIII
A NOTABLE EXPEDITION
The position of the Chateaugay was accurately laid down on the chart fifty miles to the westward of Spears Hill, which is about the geographical centre of the Bermuda Islands. Captain Chantor had invited his two pa.s.sengers to his cabin for a conference in relation to the proposed enterprise, after the observations had been worked up at noon, on the fourth day after the departure from New York.
"Now, Mr. Gilfleur, if you will indicate the precise point at which you desire to put off in your boat, I will have the ship there at the time you require," said the captain, who had drawn a rough sketch of the islands, and dotted upon it the points he mentioned in his statement.
"Of course you do not wish the ship to be seen from the islands,"
suggested the detective.
"Certainly not; for if the Dornoch is in port at St. George"s that would be warning her to avoid us in coming out, and she might escape by standing off to the northward," replied the commander. "Besides, there might be fishing-craft or other small vessels off the island that would report the ship if she were seen. It is not advisable to go any nearer to the islands till after dark. We will show no lights as we approach your destination."
"How near Gibbs Hill light can you go with safety in the darkness, Captain?" asked Mr. Gilfleur.
"I should not care to go nearer than ten miles; we could not be seen from the sh.o.r.e at that distance, but we might be seen by some small craft."
"That will do very well; and if you will make a point ten miles south-west of Gibbs Hills light, I shall be exactly suited," added the detective, as he made a small cross on the sketch near the place where he desired to embark in the boat.
The conference was finished, and the two pa.s.sengers went on deck to inspect the craft which was to convey them to the islands. By order of the commander the carpenter had overhauled the boat and made such repairs as were needed. Every open seam had been calked, and a heavy coat of paint had been put upon it. The sailmaker had attended to the jib and mainsail, and everything was in excellent condition for the trip to the sh.o.r.e.
"Is this the same boat that you used when you were in the Bermudas, Mr.
Gilfleur?" asked Christy, as they were examining the work which had been done on the craft, its spars and sails.