It was a matter of but a few moments to raise the _Flying Fish_ five
thousand feet into the air, start her engines, and head her on her
course for Odessa, which lies practically due south of Saint Petersburg.
Then, there being no mountains in the way--nothing, in fact, that, at
the height of five thousand feet, could possibly interfere with their
flight--the little party retired to their respective cabins and turned
in, leaving the great ship to take care of herself and pursue her way
unwatched; Mildmay and the professor undertaking to rise betimes in the
morning and call the other two early enough to assist in the capture--
for that was what it amounted to--of the convict-ship.
Mildmay possessed the very useful faculty of being able to awake at any
prearranged moment, and, in the exercise of this faculty, he rose from
his cot as the first faint streaks of dawn filtered in through the port
of his berth, and proceeded forthwith to the bathroom, growing
conscious, as he went, of the fact that the temperature had become very
much milder during the last few hours. This, however, was only what
might be naturally expected, since the ship had been speeding to the
southward all through the night at the rate of one hundred and twenty
miles per hour, in addition to such further speed as she might have
derived from the favourable gale that had been aiding her flight.
The rise of temperature, however, had not perceptibly communicated
itself to the water of the bath, which the gallant captain found to be
icy cold. There was, therefore, no temptation for him to linger, and a
few brief minutes sufficed him to complete his ablutions and return to
his cabin, rousing the professor as he went. Then, dressing with the
expedition of a seaman, he wended his way to the pilot-house, where,
some ten minutes later, he was joined by von Schalckenberg, who in his
turn was quickly followed by George, bearing on a tray two cups of
scalding hot coffee and a small plate of biscuits.
The light of the coming day had by this time so far increased that the
occupants of the pilot-house were enabled to see somewhat of their
surroundings. The first discovery made by them was that they had outrun
the gale of the previous night, and were now sweeping through an
atmosphere that, judging from the appearance of the few small shreds of
cloud that floated about and above them, must be nearly or quite
motionless. And the next was that, as a result of this change of
weather, the _Flying Fish_ was fully one hundred miles from the spot
where, in accordance with their calculations of the previous night, she
ought at that moment to have been. According to those calculations she
ought then to have been clear of the land and well out over the Black
Sea, whereas the land was still beneath the ship, although, so clear was
the atmosphere, the gleam of sea could just be detected on the extreme
verge of the southern horizon, some eighty-five miles ahead. But this,
after all, was a matter of very trifling import; it would defer the
capture of the _Ludwig Gadd_ to the extent of about an hour only, which
Mildmay and the professor agreed was "neither here nor there."
Meanwhile, there was just one trifling item of preparation to be
attended to, and, having leisurely imbibed their morning coffee and
munched a biscuit or two, they stopped the engines of the _Flying Fish_,
and retired from the pilot-house to attend to it. Treading noiselessly
in their india rubber-soled shoes, they descended to one of the
storerooms, throwing open the door giving access to the deck on their
way, and there loaded themselves with a number of queer-looking objects
constructed of aethereum, with which they wended their way to the deck.
Arrived here, they sought out a certain spot on the deck, about midway
between the pilot-house and the fore end of the superstructure, and
quite close to the port rail; and, having found it, they at once
proceeded to remove three small aethereum discs from the deck,
disclosing three sunk bolt-holes so arranged as to form the angles of an
equilateral triangle measuring eighteen inches along each side. The top
ends of the bolts in these holes revealed themselves about a quarter of
an inch below the level of the deck, and were easily grasped by the
fingers and drawn upward by about a couple of inches. Over these three
bolts a base-piece was next carefully arranged, which done, the nuts
were put on to the bolt-ends and screwed up tight by means of a spanner.
Then, upon this base-piece was rapidly built up the component parts of
what, upon completion, proved to be a Maxim gun, constructed entirely of
aethereum, with an aethereum shield or turret, cylindrically shaped in
such a manner as to protect completely the entire person of the gunner,
the whole affair being so arranged that the gun could be trained in any
direction by the inmate of the shield. The mounting of this gun and
shield, and the placing in position of an entire case of cartridges in
readiness for firing, occupied the two men but a bare quarter of an
hour, at the expiration of which time they returned to the pilot-house,
closed the door, and once more sent the engines ahead at full speed.
Meanwhile the pause, that had been necessary to enable them to execute
this task in comfort to themselves, had enabled them to determine the
fact that the atmosphere was practically in a state of calm, the ship
having revealed no perceptible drift in any direction, when once she had
lost her "way" or momentum through the air after the stoppage of her
engines.
The pair had scarcely settled themselves again comfortably in the
pilot-house when the sun rose, and they found themselves sweeping at
headlong speed over a vast plain intersected by a perfect network of
streams and rivers, and dotted here and there with towns and villages, a
few of which they were able to identify by means of a map which they
opened and spread out upon the table before them. Minute by minute the
sea, gleaming like a polished mirror in the light of the new-born day,
spread itself ever more broadly before and to the left of them, and soon
the indentation of Odessa Bay, with the town stretching along its
southern margin, came into view. They now decided that the moment had
arrived when the remaining male members of the party ought to be called.
The professor accordingly retired to perform this service, and
presently returned with the information that Sir Reginald and Colonel
Lethbridge were already astir and taking their coffee in the
dining-room. A few minutes later these two gentlemen made their
appearance in the pilot-house with a cheery "Good morning" to Mildmay.
"The professor tells us that Odessa is in sight," remarked Sir Reginald,
peering ahead through one of the ports. "Is that the place, right
ahead, on the far side of the bay, with the two lakes beyond it?"
"Yes," answered Mildmay, "that is Odessa. But what you take to be the
second lake--the more distant and larger sheet of water--is Dniester
Bay, the estuary of the river Dniester; and if you will look away there
into the far distance on our right, you will catch glimpses here and
there of the stream winding through the landscape."
"Yes, of course; I see it quite distinctly," returned Sir Reginald; "and
the broad sheet of water ahead and on our port bow, I take it, is the
Black Sea. When do you expect to sight the convict-ship?"
"In the course of the next hour I hope to be alongside her," answered
Mildmay. "Fortunately for us, the weather is gloriously clear, and we
ought, therefore, to sight her at a very considerable distance.
Furthermore, since we know, within a very few miles, precisely where to
look for her, I think we need not anticipate any difficulty in the
matter of identification. And, once alongside her, I propose to make
short work of the job, even should she happen to be in company with
other ships. For, in such an event, no other craft--unless, indeed, she
should happen to be a Russian man-o'-war--will be in the least degree
likely to interfere with us."
"Have you decided upon your plan of operation?" demanded Lethbridge.
"Yes," answered Mildmay. "I propose that as soon as we have sighted and
identified the steamer, we sink to the surface of the water, and
approach our quarry in the character of an ordinary ship of more or less
mysterious appearance, for by so doing we shall render our own
identification all the more difficult. It will be necessary that the
professor and I should remain here in the pilot-house--I to manoeuvre
the _Flying Fish_, and the professor, prompted by me, to do the hailing
part of the business, since he is the only man among us who can make
himself thoroughly intelligible in the Russian language. We have
mounted one of our Maxims, as you have, doubtless, already observed; for
it is improbable that the skipper of the other craft will concede our
demands until we have convinced him of our power to enforce them, and I
shall therefore be obliged to request one of you two gentlemen to take
charge of the gun, while the other stations himself in the torpedo-room
for'ard, and stands by to fire a torpedo-shell if necessary."
"Very well," said Sir Reginald. "I will take the Maxim, and Lethbridge
will no doubt attend to the torpedo part of the business. But I hope,"
he added, "it will not be necessary to use one of those terrible shells,
for, if it is, the loss of life will be frightful."
"Not necessarily," said the professor. "Mildmay and I have talked the
matter over together, and our gallant friend is confident of his ability
to manoeuvre the _Flying Fish_ so that the firing of a shell shall
result in nothing more serious than the destruction of the
convict-ship's rudder and propeller, thus completely disabling her
without imperilling her safety."
"Very well," rather reluctantly assented the baronet; "if that can be
done, well and good, but for pity's sake, Mildmay, be very careful what
you do."
"I will," responded Mildmay. "I am not altogether without hope that we
may be able to accomplish our purpose without the necessity to resort to
so stringent a measure as the firing of a shell; and in any case I
promise you that I will only do so after all other means have failed.
But here we are, clear of the land at last; and we must alter our course
a point and a half to the westward to intercept the chase."
It was exactly thirty-six minutes later, by the clock in the
pilot-house, that Mildmay, peering out through one of the port-holes,
pointed straight ahead, and exclaimed--
"There she is! There cannot be any mistake about it, for yonder steamer
is exactly where the _Ludwig Gadd_ ought to be; and there is no other
craft anywhere in sight."
The other three men forthwith stepped to the nearest port that would
afford a view of the chase, and gazed eagerly ahead. And there,
immediately over the long, tapering, conical-pointed bow of the _Flying
Fish_ they beheld, some ten miles distant, a small, faintly denned grey
blotch on the mirror-like surface of the sea, with a trail of black
smoke issuing from it, as though the furnaces on board her had just been
freshly stoked.
"We will descend and take to the water at once," remarked Mildmay. "The
conditions could not possibly be more favourable for the success of our
plans; and I take it that we shall all be glad to get this business over
as soon as possible, and our suspense brought to an end."
Therewith he laid his hand upon a small wheel, and gave it two or three
turns, thus partially opening the main air-valve and admitting a thin
stream of air into the vacuum chambers of the _Flying Fish_, with the
result that the huge craft at once began to settle down toward the
surface of the sea, upon which, a few minutes later, she floated
buoyantly as a soap-bubble. Then the main air-pumps were set to work,
forcing compressed air into the vacuum chambers, and causing the ship to
sink very gradually in the water, while at the same time, to facilitate
the operation of sinking, water was admitted into certain of the ballast
chambers in the ship's bottom until she floated at her ordinary trim for
cruising on the surface of the sea--that is to say, with the whole of
her immense propeller completely submerged, and her conical-pointed bow
buried to the depth of a foot or so. During this operation of
submergence the engines had been stopped, but they were now sent ahead
again at full speed; and some ten minutes later the singular-looking
craft ranged up on the weather quarter of a big black-hulled steamer of
about three thousand tons register, the round stern of which bore the
name of _Ludwig Gadd_ in large, yellow-painted Russian characters. This
alone was sufficient to identify her beyond question as the convict-ship
of which they were in search; but if further evidence had been needed it
was to be found in the "pen"--a stout, substantially built wooden
structure of closely set palings, about ten feet high, that occupied
nearly the whole of the fore-deck, except a narrow alley-way on each
side of it to allow of the passage of the crew fore and aft, and which
included the great main hatchway, the covers of which had been replaced
by a stout grating, with a small aperture in it just large enough for a
man to squeeze through, and at which a soldier with a loaded rifle stood
guard.
There were not many people visible about the convict-ship's decks, for
the hour was still early, and the business of the day had not yet
begun--although, had she been British, her crew would already have been
at the job of washing the decks and scouring the paint and brass-work.
But here a solitary seaman slouched to and fro on the topgallant
forecastle, keeping a perfunctory lookout; two or three others lolled
over the rail forward, staring in stupid, open-mouthed wonderment at the
silver shape of the _Flying Fish_; and the officer of the watch paced
the bridge athwartships with an air of great importance, pausing for a
moment every time he passed the compass, to glance into its bowl, or
murmur a word to quicken the vigilance of the helmsman.
As the _Flying Fish_, her name temporarily masked by tarpaulins
carelessly dropped over it, ranged up on the other craft's starboard
quarter, close enough to heave a biscuit aboard her, this man paused in
his strutting march, and, standing at the extreme end of the bridge,
gazed with quite visible perturbation at the strange apparition that
seemed to have sprung from nowhere in particular within a very few
minutes; and presently, having meanwhile seemingly made up his mind that
what he beheld was really a ship, hailed in Russian--
"Ho, the ship ahoy! Port your helm, and sheer off a bit; you'll be
aboard me if you are not careful!" At the same time he waved his hand
to his own helmsman to starboard his helm.
But Mildmay was a British naval officer--a man who, by training and the
tradition of the Service, had acquired the habit of prompt resolution,
and an equal promptitude of action in the conversion of such resolution
into an accomplished fact. The helmsman of the _Ludwig Gadd_,
therefore, had scarcely begun to revolve his steering-wheel ere the
_Flying Fish_, with her speed accurately reduced to that of the other
vessel, had sheered still closer, while von Schalckenberg, prompted by
his companion, hailed in Russian, through one of the pilot-house ports--
"_Ludwig Gadd_, ahoy! Is your captain on deck?"
"No, he is not," bawled back the Russian officer. "Why should he be on
deck at this unearthly hour of the morning? And if you do not instantly
sheer off, I will give orders to my men to open fire upon you! What do
you want? and what do you mean by sheering up alongside me in this
manner?"
The professor rapidly translated this communication to Mildmay, and at
once, again prompted by the latter, replied--
"Be good enough to stop your engines at once, sir, and send a message to
your captain that his presence is required on the bridge. I have an
important communication to make to him. And, for your own sake, you
will do well to say nothing about opening fire upon us; for, as you may
see for yourself, our machine-gun is already trained to sweep your
decks, while a single torpedo would suffice to blow you out of the
water. I beg to assure you that resistance is quite useless; you are
absolutely at our mercy, and you will therefore be well advised to yield
prompt obedience to our request!"
The Russian stood staring with mingled fury and bewilderment for a few
seconds; and then, having apparently arrived at the conclusion that
discretion would perhaps in this case prove the better part of valour,
he laid his hand upon the engine-room telegraph apparatus. A tinkling
of bells in the ship's interior was distinctly heard by those aboard the
_Flying Fish_, and presently the churning of water about the
convict-ship's rudder suddenly ceased, showing that her engines had been
stopped. At the same moment the officer on her bridge called a sailor
to him, and, with a few brief words, undistinguishable to those in the
_Flying Fish's_ pilot-house, dispatched him to the interior of the
vessel.
It is probable that the skipper of the _Ludwig Gadd_ had already been
awakened by the hailing that had passed between the two craft, for in
less than five minutes he emerged from the cabin under the poop, and,
making his way forward, leisurely ascended to the bridge, where he was
at once accosted by the officer in charge. He listened gravely to this
individual's communication, glancing with much curiosity meanwhile at
the strange glittering shape that floated quietly close alongside, and
then, striding to the starboard extremity of the narrow structure upon
which he stood, he hailed, in true nautical fashion--
"Ship ahoy! What ship is that?"
"Are you the captain of the _Ludwig Gadd_?" hailed back the professor,
ignoring the previous question.
"Ay, ay," answered the skipper, waving his hand impatiently. "Who are
you, and what do you want?"
"You have on board your ship a certain Colonel Sziszkinski, who is being
transported as a convict. Is it not so?" answered the professor.
"How do you suppose _I_ should know?" yelled back the skipper, savagely.
"I know nothing whatever about the convicts aboard here. If your
business has to do with any of them, you had better see the officer who
is going out in charge of them."
"Of course," commented Mildmay, when this had been translated to him.
"I ought to have thought of that. Ask him to send for the fellow to
come up on to the bridge."
This was done; and about a quarter of an hour later a man attired in a
green military uniform, with a sword belted to his side, and spurs
screwed to the heels of his boots, ascended to the bridge and was
promptly engaged in conference by the skipper. Presently the latter
came to the starboard end of the bridge, accompanied by the soldier, and
hailed--
"This is Captain Popovski, the officer in charge of the convicts. He
desires to know what is your business with him."
"Tell him," returned von Schalckenberg, "that we have on board a
prisoner to be exchanged for Colonel Sziszkinski, who has been unjustly
condemned."
The Russian soldier and sailor conferred together for a moment, and then
the latter hailed--
"You have, of course, a proper warrant for this exchange?"
"No," answered the professor; "we have no warrant beyond our power to
enforce our demands. Yet I think this should be sufficient, since we
can sink you in an instant if you are foolish enough to prove
contumacious. Be good enough, therefore, to bring Colonel Sziszkinski
on deck at once, and send him, unhurt, aboard us. In exchange for him
we will hand you over a man who calls himself Count Vasilovich."
The two Russian officers again conferred together for several minutes,
frequently directing their glances at the _Flying Fish_, as though
searching her for confirmatory evidence of her power to enforce her
crew's demands; and at length the Russian skipper, facing about, waved
his hand and shouted--
"All right; we are willing to make the exchange. One prisoner is as
good as another to us, so long as we can show the number contained on
our list. We will send the colonel to you forthwith."
And thereupon he faced about and gave certain orders to his subordinate
officer, who in his turn bawled an order to the boatswain to pipe away
one of the quarter boats. The soldier, meanwhile, descended from the
bridge and went below, doubtless to issue his own orders for the release
of the prisoner. A minute later some Russian sailors were seen to go
shambling aft aboard the convict-ship and busy themselves upon the task
of lowering a boat, which they presently got afloat and took to the
_Ludwig Gadd's_ gangway. And at this point in the proceedings Mildmay
shouted through the speaking-tube to Lethbridge that no torpedo-shells
would be required; and would he be good enough to bring Vasilovich up on
deck, in readiness to hand the fellow over in exchange for the colonel.
Lethbridge proved much more prompt in action than the people on board
the convict-ship, and within three minutes of the receipt by him of
Mildmay's communication he stood upon the deck of the _Flying Fish_, in
the company of von Schalckenberg and Vasilovich, awaiting the arrival of
the boat by means of which the exchange of prisoners was to be effected.
The amazement of Vasilovich was profound at finding himself afloat in
the open sea, with the convict-ship--the name on the bows and stern of
which was easily decipherable by him--close alongside. He stared
alternately about him and at the steamer that lay gently heaving upon
the slight swell within a biscuit-toss of him with an expression of
mingled bewilderment and incredulity that proved highly diverting to the
two men between whom he stood; and presently, turning to the professor,
he gasped--
"Why, Herr Professor, what does this mean? When you last night called
upon me I was in my own chateau at Pargolovo; and when you compelled me
to enter this ship--if ship it is--it was stationary on dry land. Now
it is afloat, upon the waters of the Black Sea, if I am to believe my
eyes! I cannot understand it! What does it mean?"
"It means, Count," replied von Schalckenberg, "that what you deemed an
impossibility has been accomplished. When you received that telegram
yesterday, announcing the departure of the _Ludwig Gadd_ from Odessa,
with Colonel Sziszkinski on board her as a convict, you believed that a
man who had dared to oppose certain nefarious plans of yours had at
length been effectually removed from your path, and was at the same time
undergoing a wholesome punishment for his temerity. Instead of which,
you and he are about to change places; you to go on board the _Ludwig
Gadd_ as a convict, there and in the island of Sakhalien to pay the
inadequate penalty of your countless offences, and the colonel to come
here, as our honoured guest, until we are able to place him and his
daughter, finally and for ever, beyond the reach of other tyrants like
yourself."
"Sziszkinski and I to change places?" ejaculated Vasilovich. "That
shall never be! I know not who you are--you people who have perpetrated
this monstrous outrage upon a faithful servant and personal friend of
the Tsar--but I know this, that ere long you will curse the day upon
which you planned it. Think you that his Majesty will allow such
colossal insolence as yours to go unpunished? I tell you that--but
enough; I will not degrade myself by further bandying of words with
you."
The professor duly translated this blustering speech to Colonel
Lethbridge, causing the latter to smile, at sight of which Vasilovich
ground his teeth, and cursed the two men roundly in Russian. But he was
biding his time. He saw that a boat from the convict-ship was about to
visit the strange craft on board which he found himself; he noted the
fact that his abductors apparently consisted of four men only; and he
confidently believed that upon the arrival of the boat alongside it
would but be necessary for him to declare himself to her crew, and issue
to them his orders, to insure the capture of the strangers and their
extraordinary ship, out of hand. Meanwhile the convict-ship's gig, with
four oarsmen and a coxswain in her, was hanging on to the foot of her
parent vessel's gangway-ladder; and presently a file of Russian
soldiers, with bayonets fixed, were seen to approach the gangway,
escorting between them a prisoner. Arrived at the gangway, one of the
two soldiers descended the ladder and seated himself in the stern-sheets
of the gig; the prisoner, heavily ironed, was next assisted down the
ship's side into the boat, where he seated himself beside the soldier
already there; and the second soldier then followed, placing himself on
the other side of the prisoner. A few minutes then elapsed, at the
expiration of which the officer who had been presented as Captain
Popovski appeared at the gangway, and with much care and circumspection
lowered himself gingerly down the side-ladder into the gig, where he
seated himself square in the centre of the stern-sheets. He then gave
an order to the coxswain, who repeated it to the boat's crew. The bow
oarsman bore the boat off from the ship's side, the oar-blades flashed
into the water, and a minute later Captain Popovski was standing on the
deck of the _Flying Fish_, exchanging the most elaborate and ceremonious
of bows with von Schalckenberg and Lethbridge, as his small deep-set
eyes flashed fore and aft in inquisitive scrutiny of the few visible
details of the extraordinary ship on board which he found himself. He
appeared as though about to speak, but the professor forestalled him.
"Captain Popovski," said von Schalckenberg, in Russian, "I have to
tender to you my most profound apologies for having thus somewhat
unceremoniously interrupted the progress of your voyage; but
unfortunately the information upon which I have acted came to me too
late to render any other course possible. Knowing, however, how
unpleasant this delay must be to you, I propose to render it as brief as
may be. Perhaps, therefore, you will have the goodness to give
instructions to your men to bring Colonel Sziszkinski up the side to us,
here, forthwith; and we can then proceed with and complete the exchange
at once."
The captain bowed, though the expression of his features betrayed the
disappointment he experienced at such extreme promptitude of action on
the part of the strangers in whose company he found himself. His
curiosity had been very keenly aroused by the mysterious appearance of
the _Flying Fish_ upon the scene, by the peculiar and indeed unique
model and structure of the ship herself, and by the singular blending of
politeness with autocratic authority that characterised the demeanour of
her crew; and he had hoped that an offer of hospitality by the strangers
would have afforded him an opportunity to view the interior of the
strange craft, and thus perhaps have enabled him to pick up some few
scraps of information concerning her. But clearly this was to be denied
him. He therefore proceeded to the head of the gangway-ladder and gave
an order that presently resulted in the appearance of Colonel
Sziszkinski, accompanied by the two armed guards.
A single glance at the prisoner sufficed to satisfy von Schalckenberg
that Captain Popovski was acting in good faith. He bowed to the
officer, and said--
"Yes, that is the man we want. Will you have the goodness, Captain, to
direct your men to remove his fetters and put them upon this man,"--
indicating Vasilovich.
"Stop!" shouted Vasilovich, suddenly stepping forward a pace from the
position he had hitherto passively occupied between the professor and
Lethbridge, and throwing out his arm with an authoritative gesture
towards Captain Popovski. "Stop! I forbid you to take the slightest
notice of what that man says. I am Count Vasilovich, a personal friend
of his Majesty the Emperor--you have no doubt often heard my name, and
are fully aware of the power and influence that I possess. In the name
of his Majesty I command you to seize this ship and make prisoners of
these men whom you see here, and any other persons whom you may find on
board. There are but four unarmed men here to oppose you, as you may
see, while there are four of us, three being armed. Soldiers,
attention!"
He paused suddenly, for von Schalckenberg's hand was on his collar, and
von Schalckenberg's pistol-barrel was making its presence uncomfortably
felt as the muzzle pressed coldly against his scalp just behind the left
ear.
"What?" ejaculated the professor. "Is it possible that you have so soon
forgotten the capabilities of this little toy of mine? Be silent, man,
if you do not wish your sinful, misspent life to come to a sudden and
violent end. I give you your choice: Will you die where you stand, or
will you go peaceably aboard yonder ship?"
"I will go," sullenly answered Vasilovich, through his clenched teeth.
"Good!" remarked von Schalckenberg, cheerfully. "Proceed, Captain
Popovski, if you please."
The Russian officer, who had been watching this little scene with a
kindling eye and swiftly changing emotions, waved his hand to his men,
who at once stolidly proceeded to remove the fetters from the limbs of
Sziszkinski, and place them upon those of the savagely scowling count.
"You shall pay dearly for this outrage, Captain Popovski," hissed
Vasilovich, as he felt the cold iron being clamped round his wrists.
"Only wait until his Majesty--"
"Silence!" exclaimed Popovski, angrily. "Remember that you are my
prisoner, and learn to treat me with proper respect. If you give me the
least trouble I will have you flogged. I have broken many a prouder
spirit than yours, my man, and doubt not that I can break yours also,
should it be necessary. Now, march!" And he waved his hand imperiously
toward the gangway, through which Count Vasilovich and the two soldiers
who had him in custody promptly disappeared.
"I trust, Captain, that your new prisoner is not going to give you
trouble," remarked the professor, blandly.
"I trust not--for his own sake," grimly replied Popovski. "If he does,
I shall know how to deal with him."
He lingered for a moment, to afford the strangers an opportunity to
invite him below; then, perceiving that no such invitation was to be
forthcoming, he resumed--
"Well, monsieur, I presume that the exchange which you have forced upon
me is now completed, and I may go?"
"Undoubtedly," answered von Schalckenberg, with much suavity of manner.
"And take with you, Captain, the expression of our profound appreciation
of the extreme courtesy wherewith you have acceded to our request.
Believe me, monsieur, we shall never forget it, but shall consider
ourselves as for ever indebted to you. I very deeply regret that the
exigencies of the situation render it impossible for me to invite you
below, but if you will allow me to summon a steward--"
"On no account whatever, monsieur," answered the captain, hiding his
chagrin in a grim smile. "You are doubtless as eager as I am to
proceed. I have, therefore, the honour to bid you a very good morning!"
And therewith, bowing low, he turned and passed through the gangway,
down the ladder, and so into his boat, which a few minutes later was
once more dangling at the davits of the convict-ship, while Count
Vasilovich was being inducted into his new quarters among his fellow
convicts.