FIGUERO MAKES A DISCOVERY
"You don't mean to say----" gasped Peter.
"I do. And the less notice we attract during the next five minutes the
better I shall be pleased. Bear away to the nearest yacht, and let me
apologize for being late."
So, if there were eyes on board the _Sans Souci_ that paid heed to
aught save the coming of an august visitor, they would have seen
nothing more remarkable than a small boat visiting at least two vessels
in seemingly unsuccessful quest of one among the hundreds of yachts in
the roadstead.
Following a devious route, the dinghy reached the cutter from the port
side. Warden secured a pair of night binoculars, seated himself on the
hatch, and mounted guard over the _Sans Souci_. The cruiser's launch
was still alongside, and the time passed slowly until the two officers
descended the gangway and were borne swiftly in the direction of the
Royal Yacht Club landing-slip. They had been on board three-quarters of
an hour.
There was now so little movement afloat that the pulsation of the screw
could be heard until it was quite near the private pier. Finally it
was dominated by the strains of the Castle band beginning the evening
programme with the "Boulanger March," and Warden smiled as he thought
how singularly inappropriate the lively tune must sound in the ears of
the potentate hurrying shoreward.
The band broke off abruptly; after a brief pause it struck up again.
"The King, Gord bless 'im!" said Peter loyally.
"No. That is not for the King. They are playing _Heil dir im Sieger
Krantz_" said Warden, still peering at the _Sans Souci_.
"Well, it's the fust time I've ever heerd 'Gord save the King' called
_that_," expostulated the pilot.
"Same tune, different words."
Peter sniffed in his scorn.
"They'll be sayin' the Old Hundredth is a Dutch hornpipe next," he
growled.
The Prussian National hymn might have acted as a tocsin to Mr.
Baumgartner, for a light was hoisted forthwith over the poop of the
_Sans Souci_, and Warden discerned the tall forms of the three West
African natives standing near the tubby man who manipulated rope and
pulley. Figuero was not visible at first. Warden began to be annoyed.
Could it be possible that such a social outcast could be left in Evelyn
Dane's company? Developments soon relieved the tension. A launch puffed
up and took away the visitors, Figuero being the last to step on board.
The noisy little vessel was succeeded by two boats filled with sailors
and servants. Within a few minutes the yacht's officers arrived, the
deck saloons were brilliantly illuminated, and the _Sans Souci_ became
a jeweled palace like unto the host of her congeners in the Solent.
By this time Peter was as interested as his employer in the comings and
goings of their neighbors.
"There's more in that than meets the eye, Mr. Warden," he said, rolling
some tobacco between his palms preparatory to filling his pipe.
"Yet a good deal has met our eyes to-night," was the quiet answer.
Peter worked his great hands methodically. He was not a man of many
words; and when he expressed an opinion it was the outcome of calm
deliberation.
"Tell me who them niggers an' the other party wos, an' I'll do some
fair guessin'," he said. "Rum thing, too, that such a gazebo as that
murderous-lookin' swab on the calabash should cross our course just
when it did. Were did it come from--that's wot I want to know. Has
there bin an earthquake? If looks count for anythink, it might have
risen straight up from----"
"Peter," broke in Warden, "I hope Chris is in bed?"
The pilot laughed.
"Time we wos, too, sir. May I ax w'ere his black nibs is stowed?"
"Among my traps. Forget it. I shall send it to London in the morning."
"An' a good job to be rid of it. I've seen some queer fish in the sea,
from bottle-nosed whales an' sharks to dead pigs who 'ad cut their own
throats with their fore feet by swimmin' from a wrecked ship, but never
before 'ave I clapped my peepers on a fizzy-mahog like that."
Twice had an unusually long speech betrayed his irate sentiment. He was
deeply stirred. Warden, smoking and listening in silence, but never
relaxing his vigilant scrutiny of the _Sans Souci_, felt that, in very
truth, there must be some malign influence in the carved head on the
gourd ere it would arouse the intense repugnance of two such different
natures as those of the bluff, good-tempered sailor and the dainty,
well-bred girl who had come so suddenly into his life.
He did not pursue the conversation. Though Evans was quite trustworthy,
there was no need to make him a confidant in matters which might have
the gravest bearing on an already troubled position in West Africa. The
pilot's carefully charged pipe was nearly empty when Warden surprised
him with an abrupt question.
"What time does the first train leave for London in the morning?"
"Round about seven o'clock," he said.
"You ain't thinkin' of chuckin' the cruise, I hope, sir," he went on,
and the dejection in his voice showed that he was prepared for the
worst.
"For a few hours, perhaps a night--that is all."
"So you b'lieve they mean mischief?" growled Peter, jerking a thumb
toward the yacht.
This direct and forcible reasoning was unexpected. Yet any level-headed
man might have reached practically the same conclusions from the
night's happenings. They were clear enough to one versed in most of
the intricacies and pitfalls of West African politics, nor did Warden
endeavor to evade the point.
"I believe that there are people in London who should know what you
and I know," he said slowly. "Anyhow, let us turn in. Miss Evelyn Dane
evidently sleeps on board. Perhaps the morning's light may dispel some
of the vapors that cloud our brains to-night."
The early train from Cowes did not, however, carry Arthur Warden among
the London-bound passengers.
A glimpse of Evelyn on the deck of the _Sans Souci_ altered that
portion of his plans. She waved a pleasant greeting, held up both
hands with the fingers spread widely apart, and nodded her head in
the direction of the town. He took the gesture to mean that she was
going ashore at ten o'clock, and he signaled back the information that
he would precede her at nine. Not until he found himself dawdling on
the quay, killing time as lazily as possible, did the thought obtrude
that he was extraordinarily anxious to meet her again. Of course, it
irritated him. A smart soldier, with small means beyond his pay--with
a foot just planted on the first rung of the administrator's ladder
in a land where life itself is too often the price asked for higher
climbing--he had no business to show any undue desire to cultivate the
acquaintance of young ladies so peculiarly eligible as Evelyn Dane.
He knew this so well that he scoffed at the notion, put two knuckles
between his lips, and emitted a peculiarly shrill and compelling
whistle.
For its special purpose--the summoning of a boy selling newspapers--it
was a sure means toward an end. It drew the boy's attention, even
evoked his envy. But it chanced also to be a krooboy call on the Upper
Niger, and in that capacity it brought a lean, swarthy face to the
window of a bedroom in a quiet hotel overlooking the quay.
Señor Miguel Figuero looked annoyed at first. His dark, prominent eyes
searched the open space for one of the negroes whom he expected to find
there, but his wrathful expression changed to blank incredulity when he
saw Warden. The phase of sheer unbelief did not last long. He darted
out of the room, and rapped sharply on a neighboring door.
"O Loanda, M'Wanga! you fit for get up one-time," he shouted.
Crossing the corridor, he roused another dusky gentleman, Pana by name,
with the same imperative command. Soon the four were gathered at a
window and gazing at Warden.
"Dep'ty Commissioner Brass River lib," whispered the Portuguese
eagerly. "You savvy--him dat was in Oku bush las' year. Him captain
Hausa men. You lib for see him."
"O Figuero," said one of the negroes, seemingly their leader, "I
plenty much savvy. I see him palaver in village."
"S'pose we fit for catch 'im?" suggested another.
"That fool talk here," growled Figuero. "You lib for see him
to-day--then we catch him bush one-time. I hear him give boat-boy
whistle. Stick your eyes on him, you pagans, an' don't you lib for
forget--savvy?"
They grunted agreement. The West African bushman has to depend almost
exclusively on his five senses for continued existence, and there was
little doubt that Arthur Warden would be recognized by each man at
any future date within reason, no matter what uniform he wore, or how
greatly his features might be altered by hardship or fever.
"Why he lib for dis place?" asked Loanda, the chief, who remembered
Warden's part in the suppression of a slave-raid and the punishment
subsequently inflicted on those who aided and abetted it.
"No savvy--yet. I lib for watch--then I savvy," said the Portuguese.
"O Figuero, I fit for chop," murmured Pana, who found little amusement
in gazing idly at an Englishman through a window when there were good
things to eat in the hotel.
"All right. Go an' chop, but remain in room till I come. Then I dash
you one quart gin."
Pana grinned.
"I chop one-time," he said, and, indeed, the three looked as though
they could tackle a roasted sheep comfortably.
Meanwhile, Warden opened his paper and took more interest than usual in
the news. He learned that the emperor dined on board the imperial yacht
and subsequently visited the Castle, being accompanied by Count von
Rippenbach as _aide-de-camp_.
Warden did not pretend to have more than a passing knowledge of foreign
politics, but he noted the name, the Count having undoubtedly been a
party to the conference on the _Sans Souci_.
Another paragraph was of more immediate import, inasmuch as it tended
to solve the mystery of the calabash. It ran:
"The emperor's yacht, after watching the British fleet at gun practice
off Selsey Bill yesterday, returned to the island and followed the
racers during several hours. An alarming incident occurred when
rounding the Foreland. Though a course was laid close in-shore, both
charts and lead showed ten fathoms of water. Suddenly the cruiser
struck. At first it was believed that she had run into some unknown
sandbank formed by a recent gale, but examination revealed that she had
collided with a sunken wreck, invisible even at low-water spring tide.
No damage whatever was done to the stately vessel, which continued the
cruise after a delay of a few minutes.
"A Sandown gentleman, passing the same spot later in his launch, found
some floating wreckage. The pieces he brought ashore are believed to be
parts of a ship dating back at least a couple of centuries, as there
is no record within modern times of any wooden ship foundering in the
locality. The gentleman in question decided to mark the exact spot
with a buoy, and a diver's services will be requisitioned when tide
and weather are suitable, so there is some possibility that a number
of antiques, together with a quantity of very old timber, will be
recovered."
Warden read the item twice. He found that the emperor was not on board
his own yacht at the time. The remainder of the newspaper was dull. He
threw away all but the page referring to Cowes, which he stuffed in a
pocket, and, although he held his nerves under good control, he almost
swore aloud when his fingers touched the roll of skin, whose very
existence he had forgotten for the hour.
The minutes passed slowly until a gig from the _Sans Souci_ deposited
Miss Dane on the wharf.
Not wishing to become known to any of the yacht's people if he could
possibly avoid it, Warden strolled away a little distance as soon as
the boat appeared in the Medina. Figuero, whose eyes had never left him
for an instant since he emitted the telltale whistle, hurried to the
door of the hotel and narrowly escaped being discovered when Warden
turned on his heel.
The Portuguese, an expert tracker in the bush, was out of his element
in Cowes, but he managed to slip out of sight in good time. He was
safer than he imagined. Warden was looking at Evelyn Dane, and she made
a pretty enough picture on this fine summer's day to keep any man's
glance from wandering.
It gave him a subtle sense of joy to note the unfeigned pleasure of her
greeting. Her face mantled with a slight color as she held out her hand.
"I am on my way home," she cried, "but my train does not leave for half
an hour. It is so good of you to wait here. I was dreading that you
might row across to the yacht--not because I did not want to see you
again, but Mr. Baumgartner made such a point of excluding me from any
knowledge of his visitors last night that he would be positively ill if
he guessed I had friends on board the _Nancy_."
"And Mrs. Baumgartner----"
"She is a dear creature, but much in awe where her husband's business
affairs are concerned. She and I passed the evening together. She would
not hear of my departure, but she warned me not to say a word about my
afternoon's adventures. Mr. Baumgartner is of a nervous disposition. I
suppose he thinks all the world is watching him because he is a rich
man."
"There is method in his madness this time," laughed Warden. "Let
me tell you quite candidly that if some one told him my name and
occupation and added the information that I kept a close eye on the
_Sans Souci_ between the hours of 5.30 and 9 P.M. last night, he, being
of plethoric habit, would be in danger of apoplexy."
They were walking to the station. Evelyn, unable to decide whether or
not to take his words seriously, gave him a shy look.
"You knew I was safe on board," she said.
For some reason, the assumption that he was thinking only of her caused
the blood to tingle in Warden's veins.
"That is the nicest thing you could have said," he agreed, and she in
turn felt her heart racing.
"Of course you are very well aware that I did not imagine you might not
be differently occupied," she protested.
"Let us not quarrel about meanings. You were delightfully right. It is
the simple fact that before you were many minutes in the _Sans Souci's_
cabin--by the way, where were you?"
"In Mrs. Baumgartner's state-room."
"Ah. Well--to continue--I was nearly coming to take you away, _vi et
armis_."
"But why?"
"You have no idea whom Mr. Baumgartner was entertaining?"
"None."
"The first person to reach the _Sans Souci_ after yourself was the
Portuguese land-pirate I mentioned to you yesterday. He was accompanied
by three chiefs of the men of Oku. Do you recollect my description of
the mask on the gourd?"
She uttered a startled little cry.
"Are you in earnest?" was all she could find to say.
"I was in deadly earnest about eight o'clock last evening, I assure
you. Had it not been for a most amazing intervention you would
certainly have heard me demanding your instant appearance on deck."
"Then what happened?"
"I must begin by admitting that I was worried about you. I got into the
dinghy, intending to see you on some pretext. A launch containing this
precious gang crossed my bows, and I returned to the _Nancy_ to--to
secure Peter's assistance. We were near the _Sans Souci_ on the second
trip when another launch arrived, and there stepped on board the yacht
a gentleman whose presence assured me that you, at least, were safe
enough. You will credit that element in a strained situation when I
tell you that the latest arrival was the emperor."
"The Emperor!" she almost gasped. "Do you mean----"
"Sh-s-s-h! No names. If walls have ears, we are surrounded by
listeners. But I am not mistaken. I saw him clearly. I heard
Baumgartner's humble greeting. And the really remarkable fact is that
Peter and you and I share a very important state secret."
"I--I don't understand," she said, bewildered.
"Of course you don't. Not many people could guess why the most powerful
monarch on the Continent of Europe should wish to confer with four of
the ripest scoundrels that the West African hinterland can produce.
Nevertheless, it is true."
"Then that is why Mrs. Baumgartner kept me closeted in her state-room
nearly two hours?"
"Yes. By the way, has she engaged you?"
"Yes. She was exceedingly kind. The terms and conditions are most
generous. I rejoin the yacht and meet her daughter at Milford next
Wednesday. Then we go to Scotland for some shooting, and the _Sans
Souci_ returns to Portsmouth to be refitted for a cruise to Madeira and
the Canaries during the winter months. Altogether, she sketched a very
agreeable programme. But you have excited my curiosity almost beyond
bounds by your description of the goings-on last night. My share of
the important state secret you spoke of is very slight. It consists in
being wholly ignorant of it. Can you enlighten me?"
"There is no reason why I should not. It will invest the Baumgartners
with a romantic nimbus which, judging solely from observations, might
otherwise be lacking."
The girl laughed.
"They are pleasant people, but rather commonplace," she said.
"Well, we can talk freely in the train."
"You are not leaving Cowes this morning on my account?"
Perhaps her voice showed a degree of restraint. Though she was
beginning to like Captain Arthur Warden more than she cared to
admit even to herself, he must not be allowed to believe that their
friendship could go to extremes.
"If you don't mind enduring my company as far as Portsmouth, I propose
to inflict it on you," he explained good-humoredly. "Circumstances
compel me to visit London to-day. Chris is now waiting at the station
with my bag. I would have left the island by the first train had I
not been lucky enough to see you earlier and interpret your signal
correctly."
"I only intended to tell you----"
"The time you would come ashore. Exactly. Why are you vexed because we
are fellow-travelers till midday?"
"I am not vexed. I am delighted."
"You expressed your delight with the warmth of an iceberg."
"Now you are angry with me."
"Furious. But please give me your well-balanced opinion. If peaches are
good in the afternoon should they not be better in the morning?"
"I _could_ eat a peach," she admitted.
Figuero, who did not fail to pick up the newspaper thrown aside by
Warden, followed them without any difficulty. When they stopped at a
shop in the main street he took the opportunity to buy a copy of the
torn newspaper. Mingling with a crowd at the station, he saw them enter
a first-class carriage. His acquaintance with the English language was
practically confined to the trader's tongue spoken all along the West
African coast, and he had little knowledge of English ways. But he was
shrewd and tactful, and his keen wits were at their utmost tension.
Hence, he was not at a loss how to act when he found that a ticket
examiner was visiting each compartment. Seizing a chance that presented
itself, he asked the man if he could inform him where the pretty girl
in blue and the tall gentleman in the yachtsman's clothes were going,
and a tip of five shillings unlocked the official lips.
"The lady has a return ticket to Langton, in Oxfordshire, and the
gentleman a single to London," said the man.
Figuero did not trust his memory. He asked the name of the first-named
town again, and how to spell it. Then he wrote something in a note-book
and hurried back to the harbor. It was essential that he should find
out what vessels these two people came from, for the presence of a
Southern Nigeria Deputy Commissioner in Cowes was not a coincidence to
be treated lightly.
Seated in a tiny boat in the harbor was a rotund, jolly-looking
personage of seafaring aspect. He and the boat were there when the
larger craft which brought the girl ashore came to the quay, but
Figuero had taken no notice of Evelyn then, because he had not the
least notion that Warden was awaiting her. Possibly the sailor-like
individual in the small boat could slake his thirst for knowledge.
So he hailed him.
"You lib for know Capt'n Varden?" he asked, with an ingratiating smile
and a hand suggestively feeling for a florin.
"I wot?" said the stout man, poking out a wooden leg as he swung round
to face his questioner.
"You savvy--you know Capt'n Varden, a mister who walk here
one-time--just now--for long minutes."
"There's no one of that name in these parts," replied Peter, who
thought he identified this swarthy-faced inquirer.
"Den p'raps you tell name of young lady--very beautiful young lady--who
lib for here in ship-boat not much time past? She wear blue dress an'
brown hat an' brown boots."
"Oh, everybody knows _her_," grinned Peter. "She's Miss Polly Perkins,
of Paddington Green."
"You write 'im name, an' I dash you two shillin'," said Figuero eagerly.
Peter was about to reply that if any dashing was to be done he could
take a hand in the game himself, but he thought better of it. Taking
the proffered note-book and pencil, he wrote the words laboriously, and
pocketed his reward with an easy conscience.
"When Chris heaves in sight I'll send him back for two pounds of
steak," he communed. "It was honestly earned, an' I figure on the
Captain bein' arf tickled to death when I tell 'im how the Portygee
played me for a sucker."
Figuero hastened to the hotel, saw that his sable friends were well
supplied with gin and cigarettes, bade them lie _perdu_ till he came
back, and made his way to the quay again. Peter was still there,
apparently without occupation.
"You lib for take me to yacht _Sans Souci_ an' I dash you five
shillin'?" he said.
"Right-o, jump in," cried Peter, but he added under his breath, "Sink
me if he don't use a queer lingo, but money talks."
He used all his artifices to get Figuero to discuss his business in
Cowes, but he met a man who could turn aside such conversational arrows
without effort. At any rate, Peter was now sure he was not mistaken
in believing that his fare was the "Portuguese slave-trader and
gin-runner" spoken of by Warden, and he had not failed to notice the
hotel which Figuero had visited so hurriedly.
There was a check at the yacht. Mr. Baumgartner had gone ashore, but
would return for luncheon. So Peter demanded an extra half crown for
the return journey, and met a wondering Chris with a broad smile.
"You're goin' shoppin', sonny," he exclaimed. "I've been earnin' good
money to-day. Sheer off for 'arf an hour, an' I'll tie up the dinghy.
I've got a notion that a pint would be a treat."
Thus it came to pass that while Señor Miguel Figuero was puzzling, even
alarming the millionaire yacht-owner with his broken talk of Captain
Varden, Dep'ty Commissioner and leader of bush expeditions--alarming
him so thoroughly that he never dreamed of associating Miss Evelyn Dane
with the Polly Perkins of Peter's juvenile memories--Arthur Warden
himself was driving in a hansom from Waterloo to the Foreign Office,
and wondering what new phase of existence would open up before him when
his news became known to the men who control the destinies of Outer
Britain.