That there really was distinct need for such a precaution seemed to be borne out next morning by the fact that when the party mustered for breakfast Barker was found to be an absentee, and upon George being dispatched to his cabin to awaken him, upon the a.s.sumption that he had overslept himself, the man presently returned with a message to the effect that the absentee was suffering from a splitting headache, that he required no breakfast, and that "he guessed" he would spend the morning in bed, if it was all the same to the others. Whereupon von Schalckenberg paid him a professional visit, looked at his tongue, asked him a few questions, and sent him a draught to take. Sir Reginald--who, now that his wife and child were with him, had evinced a rather marked tendency toward over-anxiety in all matters relating to sickness--was very particular in his inquiries as to the invalid"s condition, and was with difficulty rea.s.sured by the professor"s a.s.sertion that there was certainly nothing worse the matter with him than, possibly, a slight attack of biliousness. The remaining five men, therefore, went away in the boats after breakfast, Sir Reginald taking the precaution to carry his telephone along with him, in order that Lady Olivia might have the means of communicating with him in the event of further and more serious symptoms manifesting themselves in the case of the sick man.
Arrived at the shoal, the divers--Mildmay and von Schalckenberg as before--went down and got to work; but Barker"s absence was felt when it came to hauling up the full nets, the weight of which proved to be rather too much for one man to handle, and it therefore became necessary to haul up the nets one at a time, discharge both into the same boat, and, when she was as full as was thought desirable, leave her, shifting over to the other boat and loading her in the same way. The consequence of this was that they were late in completing their cargoes, and it was already considerably past the luncheon-hour when at length they lifted their anchors and started back toward the lagoon. Nothing had been heard in the mean time from Lady Olivia, from which circ.u.mstance it was deduced that the patient was at all events no worse.
Scarcely, however, had the boats got under way when the bell of the telephone in Sir Reginald"s pocket began to ring, and he whipped the instrument out with the remark--
"Hillo! what does this mean? Nothing very serious, I hope."
He pressed the thumb of one hand upon the small red k.n.o.b of the instrument, and with the other hand inserted the tube of it into his ear.
Almost instantly he heard his wife"s voice calling to him--
"Reginald! Reginald! are you there, and can you hear me?"
"Yes, dear, I am here; and can hear you quite distinctly," answered Sir Reginald. "What is the matter? Nothing wrong with Barker, I hope. Is he any worse?"
"Worse!" echoed Lady Olivia"s voice, in accents of intense indignation.
"There is nothing the matter with him--the wretch--except that he has stolen the _Flying Fish_, and is making off with her--and us."
"_What_!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Sir Reginald, in a tone of such profound consternation that those in the other boat heard him, and von Schalckenberg, sheering in close alongside, demanded to know what was wrong. Sir Reginald, still listening at his telephone, held up his hand for silence. Lady Olivia was still speaking.
"Yes, it is quite true," she continued. "You had scarcely been gone an hour, this morning, when he suddenly presented himself in the music-room, where Feodorovna and I were sitting, and called Mlle.
Sziszkinski out of the room. Suspecting nothing, the poor girl at once went, and a few minutes later he returned, alone, and, presenting a revolver at my head, ordered me to follow him, warning me at the same time that if I raised the slightest outcry of any kind, he would shoot me dead."
"The scoundrel! The consummate blackguard!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Sir Reginald through his set teeth. "Yes, dear; go on. I am listening," he added.
"Of course I went; for there was nothing else to do," continued Lady Olivia. "And he looked so fierce, so determined, in such deadly earnest, that I felt sure he would carry out his threat if I disobeyed him. He led me up to the pilot-house; and there I found poor little Ida--whom I had believed to be out on deck, playing or reading--bound hand and foot, with a gag in her mouth."
Sir Reginald drew in his breath sharply, but said nothing.
"The moment that I entered the pilot-house he closed the door, and placing his back against it, pointed to Ida, saying, "You see, ma"am, there is your child; and if you will look closely at her you will see that I have lashed her up so tightly that, if she could speak, she would tell you that she is mighty uncomfortable!" And indeed, I could see that the brute was only speaking the truth--much less than the truth, in fact, for it was clear that the poor darling was suffering torment. Oh, Reggie, I tried to get to her to release her, but that brute raised his pistol and pointed it at her, saying, "If you offer to touch her, I"ll blow her brains out! If you want to gain her release, tell me what you know about the working of this ship, and as soon as we are outside the reef you may release the child."
"What could I do, Reggie? I simply could _not_ stand there and see my darling suffering, so I asked him what he wanted to know. He said that the first thing he wished to know was how to raise the anchor, and I showed him. Then he asked how the engines were worked, and I showed him that, taking care, however, only to show him how they worked at their lowest speed. He kept me there with him until the ship had pa.s.sed through the pa.s.sage in the reef, and then he told me that I might take my "brat" and go. I needed no second bidding, you may be sure, but s.n.a.t.c.hed up the poor little thing and took her straight down into her own cabin, where--excepting for the few moments necessary to release Feodorovna from confinement in her cabin--nurse and I have been busy ever since, chafing her poor limbs and soothing her as well as we could.
She suffered agonies at first, but is better now, and has gone to sleep."
"Good!" responded Sir Reginald. "I am now going to consult with the rest as to what is best to be done. But do not yet put your telephone away; I may wish to speak with you again."
Then Sir Reginald, in as few words as possible, repeated Lady Olivia"s story to the others, ending by asking Mildmay, as an experienced seaman, what he would advise.
"The first thing to be done is to heave these oysters overboard as quickly as we can get rid of them. The next, of course, is to go full speed ahead in chase of the ship. It will be a desperately long chase, however, for these boats can only run twelve knots, while the ship, even at her slowest, will be going quite ten."
"Precisely," a.s.sented the baronet. "Then, there is the question of how we are going to find the ship. For of course she is far out of sight of the atoll by this time."
"True," a.s.sented Mildmay; "I am thinking about that, too. Ask Lady Olivia what she can tell us about the course, or courses, that the fellow has been steering."
"Better take the telephone yourself, old chap, and ask your questions first-hand," said Sir Reginald, handing over the instrument to the skipper.
Mildmay took it, and, inserting the small tube in his ear, spoke into the mouthpiece.
"Are you still there, Lady Olivia?"
"Yes," came the instant reply. "What now, Captain?"
"I want you to tell me what you can about the course that this fellow Barker is steering. Did you notice it?"
"Yes," answered Lady Olivia; "fortunately I thought of that. He was steering due east when he released me; and so soon as I got down into Ida"s cabin I took the little aneroid with the compa.s.s at its back that hangs there and set it on the table, so that I could watch it. It was just eleven o"clock, by the clock in the pilot-house, when we pa.s.sed out through the reef; and at twelve o"clock he altered his course to north-east-by-east, which is the course that he is steering at present."
"Thanks, very much. That will do excellently. Please keep an eye on that compa.s.s, and let us know if he makes any further alterations," said Mildmay; and when he had received Lady Olivia"s answer, he handed back the telephone to Sir Reginald and, drawing a pencil from one pocket, and his watch from the other, made a brief note on one of his cuffs.
"Has either of you fellows a decent-sized bit of paper about you?" he asked.
Lethbridge drew his pocket-book from his pocket. "Will a leaf--or the whole book--be of any use to you?" he asked.
"A couple of leaves will do. Thanks," he replied, as Lethbridge tore out two and handed them to him. With one of these he constructed a kind of scale; then, with its aid, he drew a diagram on the other.
"So far as I can make out," he said, "with the help of this rough diagram, the ship is at this moment twenty-eight and three-quarter miles east-north-east of us--there, or thereabouts. We will therefore run on that course for the next two hours and twenty-five minutes--by which means we shall cut off a few miles--and then we must haul up on the same course as herself, and make a dead run after her."
Then von Schalckenberg spoke up. "May I be permitted to have a word or two with Lady Elphinstone?" he asked, addressing Sir Reginald.
"By all means, my dear fellow," answered the baronet. "Here you are."
And he pa.s.sed over the telephone.
Taking the instrument, the professor adjusted it for use, pressed the black k.n.o.b, and the bell began to ring. Almost immediately it ceased again, however; whereupon the designer of the _Flying Fish_ spoke.
"Are you there, my Lady?" he asked.
"Yes, Professor," came the reply. "I am listening."
"Where are you now, Madame?" asked von Schalckenberg.
"I am still in Ida"s cabin," answered her Ladyship.
"Good!" remarked the professor. "Now, please listen very attentively to what I am about to say. But, tell me first, is Barker still in the pilot-house?"
"Yes; he is steering the ship, and--I think--trying to find out the use of all the levers and wheels and things that he sees there."
"Ah!" exclaimed the German, in alarm; "he must be stopped, quick, or heaven only knows what may happen. Now, please listen. Have you the courage to steal very quietly up to the foot of the pilot-house staircase, and do a very simple thing, quickly, before he knows that you are there, and what you are doing?"
"I have the courage; but I may not have the ability," answered Lady Olivia. "What is it that you wish me to do?"
"I want you," said von Schalckenberg, "to go to the place I have named, and stand between the staircase and the bulkhead, or wall, with your back turned to the stairs. Then, in the bulkhead, immediately in front of you, you will observe what appears to be the door of a small cupboard. Open this, and you will see just inside a lever sloping upward to the right. Grasp the handle, and push the lever as far as you can over toward your _left_--it should move quite easily--and you will have effectually shut Barker into the pilot-house, from which he cannot then get out to interfere with you. Let me know when you have done this, and I will then tell you what next to do."
"Right," came the answer. "I will do it, if it is to be done."
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
HOW THE ADVENTURE ENDED.