"I am right--I am right--I am right!"
He now caromed from me and in the same manner embraced Tommy, and after this he tackled Gates. But Gates did not understand the continental fashion of masculine salutations, and sternly disengaged himself, saying:
"You carn"t be right, sir! I don"t know what"s the matter, but it"s easy to see you carn"t just be right!"
"_Sacre bleu!_" Monsieur stepped back, actually weeping with happiness.
"What stupid idiots we are! Can"t you see?"
"I can see one," Tommy grinned at him sweetly.
"Ah, but look!" He thrust before us the thing he had taken from the bag.
It was that precious kodak film of Sylvia. "Look!" he cried. "You say she is near to twenty--he, to seventy-five! But, more than all, I see with my lens that here is the breathing likeness of the mother! Where are your eyes, my boys? _Ciel_, must I tell you? She is the kidnaped princess of Azuria!"
You who read may have surmised this; so might we, had we been reading instead of making history. The human mind that leans above a printed page possesses a more concentrated grasp of facts than the human atoms who run over the earth collecting them. So I caught my breath and simply stared, too dazed to speak. It seemed as though something had given me a surprising whack that sent a thousand sparks before my eyes. But then slowly the whole structure began to unfold. Each step of evidence we had picked up since the memorable night but twenty-four hours ago, now took its place as the panorama--not flawless, but with inviting possibilities,--and pa.s.sed across my brain.
It was very late when we pushed back from the table. In its center were the counterfeit bill, the magnifying gla.s.s, parts of the thoroughly dissected bomb, several pages of writing pad with the professor"s deductions; and by these were some of Gates" charts, the paper I had procured from the waiter, and another page containing those mystic sentences Sylvia had spoken for finding her island--because I thought it fair to her that this should be laid before my friends, especially as she had only said them in a dream.
Strangely enough the professor was willing to admit them to his scheme of carrying on our pursuit--a chase which he now seemed determined to direct--when even Tommy, the superst.i.tious Tommy, declared they would throw us off the track a thousand miles. I could think of no plan, for altogether it did seem like combing out the universe for two human atoms.
"We have one sure way, of course," the professor leaned wearily back.
"Keep the _Orchid_ in sight. If we do this till she reaches her lair, all is well."
"I wouldn"t doubt she sailed, sir, right arfter placing the bomb," Gates ventured.
"Then we can"t keep her in sight," said Tommy dolefully.
"Do not thwart me," the little fellow cried, with a sudden flare of anger that made us smile in spite of the serious work at hand.
"We"d better go ash.o.r.e first," I suggested, "and get authority to capture her. The government can deputize us by sending along an officer."
"Authority!" Monsieur puffed out his cheeks and snapped his finger.
"That for your government"s authority! I have the authority with me!"
"You!" I exclaimed.
"_Certainement!_ I was one of those true friends who left the palace years ago, with the old King"s authority in my pocket! It is in that bag now! It is absolute--absolute!--protecting me against anything I may do in effecting her rescue and return. It is by far more powerful than anything your government could give us! A King"s order makes the police of the world my underlings! Besides that, she is my special charge, and no power this side of Azuria can abrogate my authority over her!"
A cold hand wrapped its fingers about my heart. The hopelessness of our search would have been depressing enough had it not contained the spice of chase, but to feel that it might be fruitful only to have her s.n.a.t.c.hed off into a world as unknown, as impossible to me as this far off kingdom, was crazing. To me it would be like seeing her transported from one star to another, while I remained on earth to gaze my eyes out and eat my heart out with endless longing.
"Her mother is regent, you say?" Tommy asked, intuitively sympathizing with my state of mind.
"Yes. In Roumania a woman may not ascend the throne alone, but in Azuria, where the Ruman blood has never mixed, she may act as regent if her heir is a girl too young to marry. But now," he clapped his hands joyfully, "we can complete the alliance with a neighboring prince--and, ah, what joy there will be!"
"You"ve got to catch her first," Tommy said, not without a trace of spite. "Even if we get near enough to see him, at all, he can see us, too; then lead us off the track till night and make a run for base."
"So he will, my boy Tommy. And if his lair is to the west, he will doubtless lead us to the east. But we must sail at dawn--then we shall see what we shall see!"
"Good night," I said, abruptly kicking back my chair.
Thus our meeting broke up; Gates going first to sink the dynamite and then leave orders for all canvas to be stretched at peep o" day. Tommy came on deck with me, and we stood a while looking into the black water.
Off in the town, in a side street near the wharf where sailors"
amus.e.m.e.nt halls are cl.u.s.tered, some tipsy fellow was bawling a love song at the top of his voice. He seemed to be the only thing awake in Key West at this hour. When the song, or his voice, gave out the silence settled heavier than before. A ship"s bell, far over the water, began to strike, and we counted five mellow strokes: one-one, one-one, one!
"Half-past two," Tommy whispered, "I wonder what Nell"s doing!"
"Dreaming of you, no doubt," I tried to laugh. "Maybe you and she are wrecked on a desert island at this blissful moment."
"I wish we were," he murmured, without looking around. "And you and Sylvia, too!"
"Cut it," I growled. "She"s a princess, Tommy, and that puts the kibosh on my dreams."
"Nell"s a princess, too," he said gently, "and I still hang on. Tilt up your chin, Jack, and things"ll squeeze through for us! We"ll ship the old counterfeiter to prison, or kill him, and then----"
"And then," I said bitterly, turning to go below, "Princess Sylvia goes to the arms of some popinjay prince!"
But I had taken only a step when his hand fell on my shoulder like a piece of steel and whirled me around. There was nothing gentle in his voice this time as he sharply commanded:
"Look at me, you d.a.m.n slacker, and let"s see if I"m talking to the man I fought the Boche with!"
I must have appeared rather well indignant with him, for he gave a low, rea.s.sured laugh, adding:
"That"s better. Now I want to say, once and for all--and I swear it on each of these stars, both for myself and Nell--that if we catch up with Princess Sylvia, and you let her be taken away, I"ll punch your face into a jolly good pulp, so help me old Kentucky! Good _night_!"
"If you"re man enough to do it," I yelled after him.
Fine old Tommy! I believe I loved him then better than ever before.
CHAPTER VIII
THE CHASE BEGINS
I slept like a log and was awake, anxious to turn out, at the peep of dawn. But Gates was ahead of me when I reached the deck. Our anchor had just been hoisted, and every sail was set, though nearly limp with a negligible breeze.
"What news?" I asked.
"Nothing, sir; leastwise nothing of the _Orchid_. She"s gone."
"We expected that. Any idea which way?"
"I talked to a sponge fisher who came by a while back, sir, and he said a schooner yacht sailed about midnight, or maybe later; north, he said.
But she carn"t have got far, as there hasn"t been hardly any air stirring all night till this little one now. If it wasn"t so heavy off there we might see her, I farncy. The mate"s aloft, sir."
I looked up and saw him steadily sweeping the distance with his binoculars; but, as Gates had said, the horizon in all directions was heavy, and in such weather our search, indeed, seemed next to useless.
With the world a playground, how could we find this vagrant yacht.