'We have only the armament agreed upon by you to protect this immense
mass of bullion from the attacks of the unscrupulous,' said Mr. Macrae.
'I take heaven to witness that I am honourably observing every article of
our agreement, as _per_ yours of August 21.'
'All right,' answered the voice. 'I dare say you are honest. But I may
as well tell you _this_, that while passing under your yacht we attached
two slabs of gun-cotton to her keel. The knob connected with them is
under my hand. We placed them where they are, not necessarily for
publication--explosion, I mean--but merely as a guarantee of good faith.
You understand?'
'Perfectly,' said Mr. Macrae, 'though I regard your proceeding as a fresh
and unmerited insult.'
'Merely a precaution usual in business,' said the voice. 'And now,' it
went on, 'for the main transaction. You will lower your gold into boats,
row it across, and land it here on my deck. When it is all there, _and_
has been inspected by me, you will send one boat rowed by _two men only_,
into which Miss Macrae shall be placed and sent back to you. When that
has been done we shall part, I hope, on friendly terms and with mutual
respect.'
'Captain McClosky,' said Mr. Macrae, 'will you kindly pipe all hands on
board to discharge cargo?' The captain obeyed.
Mr. Macrae turned to Bude. 'This is a moment,' he said, 'which tries a
father's heart! Presently I must see Emmeline, hear her voice, clasp her
to my breast.' Bude mutely wrung the hand of the millionaire, and turned
away to conceal his emotion. Seldom, perhaps never, has a father
purchased back an only and beloved child at such a cost as Mr. Macrae was
now paying without a murmur.
The boats of the _Flora Macdonald_ were lowered and manned, the winches
slowly swung each huge box of the precious metal aboard the boats. Mr.
Macrae entrusted the keys of the gold-chests to his officers.
'Remember,' cried the voice from the submarine, 'we must have the gold on
board, inspected, and weighed, before we return Miss Macrae.'
'Mean to the last,' whispered the millionaire to the earl; but aloud he
only said, 'Very well; I regret, for your own sake, your suspicious
character, but, in the circumstances, I have no choice.'
To Bude he added: 'This is terrible! When he has secured the bullion he
may submerge his submarine and go off without returning my daughter.'
This was so manifestly true that Bude could only shake his head and
mutter something about 'honour among thieves.'
The crew got the gold on board the boats, and, after several journeys,
had the boxes piled on the deck of the submarine.
When they had placed the boxes on board they again retired, and one of
the men of the submarine, who seemed to be in command, and wore a mask,
coolly weighed the glittering metal on the deck, returning each package,
after weighing and inspection, to its coffer. The process was long and
tedious; at length it was completed.
Then at last the form of Miss Macrae, in an elegant and tasteful yachting
costume, appeared on the deck of the submarine. The boat's crew of the
_Flora Macdonald_ (to whom she was endeared) lifted their oars and
cheered. The masked pirate in command handed her into a boat of the
_Flora's_ with stately courtesy, placing in her hand a bouquet of the
rarest orchids. He then placed his hand on his heart, and bowed with a
grace remarkable in one of his trade. This man was no common desperado.
The crew pulled off, and at that moment, to the horror of all who were on
the _Flora's_ deck, two slight jars again thrilled through her from stem
to stern.
Mr. Macrae and Bude gazed on each other with ashen faces. What had
occurred? But still the boat's crew pulled gallantly towards the
_Flora_, and, in a few moments, Miss Macrae stepped on deck, and was in
her father's arms. It was a scene over which art cannot linger. Self-
restraint was thrown to the winds; the father and child acted as if no
eyes were regarding them. Miss Macrae sobbed convulsively, her sire was
shaken by long-pent emotion. Bude had averted his gaze, he looked
towards the submarine, on the deck of which the crew were busy, beginning
to lower the bullion into the interior.
To Bude's extreme and speechless amazement, another periscope arose from
ocean at about fifty yards from the further side of the submarine! Bude
spoke no word; the father and daughter were absorbed in each other; the
crew had no eyes but for them.
Presently, unmarked by the busy seamen of the hostile submarine, the
platform and look-out hood of _another_ submarine appeared. The new boat
seemed to be pointing directly for the middle of the hostile submarine
and at right angles to it.
'_Hands up_!' pealed a voice from the second submarine.
It was the voice of Merton!
At the well-known sound Miss Macrae tore herself from her father's
embrace and hurried below. She deemed that a fond illusion of the senses
had beguiled her.
Mr. Macrae looked wildly towards the two submarines.
The masked captain of the hostile vessel, leaping up, shook his fist at
the _Flora Macdonald_ and yelled, 'Damn your foolish treachery, you money-
grubbing hunks! You _have_ a consort.'
'I assure you that nobody is more surprised than myself,' cried Mr.
Macrae.
'One minute more and you, your ship, and your crew will be sent to your
own place!' yelled the masked captain.
He vanished below, doubtless to explode the mines under the _Flora_.
Bude crossed himself; Mr. Macrae, folding his arms, stood calm and
defiant on his deck. One sailor (the cook) leaped overboard in terror,
the others hastily drew themselves up in a double line, to die like
Britons.
A minute passed, a minute charged with terror. Mr. Macrae took out his
watch to mark the time. Another minute passed, and no explosion.
The captain of the pirate vessel reappeared on her deck. He cast his
hands desperately abroad; his curses, happily, were unheard by Miss
Macrae, who was below.
'Hands up!' again rang out the voice of Merton, adding, 'if you begin to
submerge your craft, if she stirs an inch, I send you skyward at least as
a preliminary measure. My diver has detached your mines from the keel of
the _Flora Macdonald_ and has cut the wires leading to them; my bow-tube
is pointing directly for you, if I press the switch the torpedo must go
home, and then heaven have mercy on your souls!'
A crow of laughter arose from the yachtsmen of the _Flora Macdonald_, who
freely launched terms of maritime contempt at the crew of the pirate
submarine, with comments on the probable future of the souls to which
Merton had alluded.
On his desk the masked captain stood silent. 'We have women on board!'
he answered Merton at last.
'You may lower them in a collapsible boat, if you have one,' answered
Merton. 'But, on the faintest suspicion of treachery--the faintest
surmise, mark you, I switch on my torpedo.'
'What are your terms?' asked the pirate captain.
'The return of the bullion, that is all,' replied the voice of Merton. 'I
give you two minutes to decide.'
Before a minute and a half had passed the masked captain had capitulated.
'I climb down,' he said.
'The boats of the _Flora_ will come for it,' said Merton; 'your men will
help load it in the boats. Look sharp, and be civil, or I blow you out
of the water!'
The pirates had no choice; rapidly, if sullenly, they effected the
transfer.
When all was done, when the coffers had been hoisted aboard the _Flora
Macdonald_, Merton, for the first time, hailed the yacht.
'Will you kindly send a boat round here for me, Mr. Macrae, if you do not
object to my joining you on the return voyage?'
Mr. Macrae shouted a welcome, the yacht's crew cheered as only Britons
can. Mr. Macrae's piper struck up the march of the clan, '_A' the wild
McCraws are coming_!'
'If any of you scoundrels shoot,' cried Merton to his enemies, 'up you
will all go. You shall stay here, after we depart, in front of that
torpedo, just as long as the skipper of my vessel pleases.'
Meanwhile the boat of the _Flora_ approached the friendly submarine;
Merton stepped aboard, and soon was on the deck of the _Flora Macdonald_.
Mr. Macrae welcomed him with all the joy of a father re-united to his
daughter, of a capitalist restored to his millions.