John Gaunt once again read his wife’s letter with its message: “_To my
dying day I shall regret that I am your wife_,” and the words burnt
themselves into his brain. Drake was standing near but spoke no word
for he could read tragedy on the face of his friend, and realized that
sympathy would be of no help.
“Now I am with you heart and soul. The Baron is responsible for this,
and the Baron and his friends shall pay me. Read that,” Gaunt said
and passed the letter to Drake. The latter took it hesitatingly, and
glanced at the two lines.
“You must not attach too much importance to this,” he said earnestly.
“Your wife was upset and already she will have regretted such a
message. You must remember that Ruggles’ speech must have sounded
horrible to a woman’s ear. Your wife listened to an accusation that
you had robbed a man of his native mistress and then had deliberately
shot the man that you had robbed. I believe it is not the truth of the
charge that has distressed her but the fact that such a charge has been
made. She loves you, and her respect for you will have been shattered,
her pride in you will have received a grievous wound, and her instinct
was to strike back. She knew that the easiest way of making you suffer
would be through your love for her—hence this letter.”
“You may be right, but I do not care. She has left my house, taking my
child with her, and I swear that I will never try to bring her back,”
Gaunt cried recklessly.
“You, too, are upset, or you would not say those words. It was in the
same mood that your wife wrote to you. I have no doubt that she will be
back to-night. You may be sure that she will read Sir Richard’s speech,
and will feel ashamed of having acted so hastily.”
There was misery in Gaunt’s eyes, but with a supreme effort he pulled
himself together, and going over to the writing-table produced a bundle
of papers from a drawer.
“Drake, I shall be glad if you will not again refer to Lady Mildred.
You will doubtless be glad that henceforth I shall be able to
concentrate my energies on our scheme. We have so far been particularly
fortunate, and unless something unforeseen happens, the expedition
ought to start within a fortnight. By the bye, what about Alvarez?”
“He is waiting to hear from me. If you wish, I could arrange an
appointment for to-night. He appears very anxious to come to an
arrangement, for San Salvador badly needs the money.”
“Fix up the appointment; the sooner it is settled the better.”
“My brother has asked Captain Armstrong to dinner. The invitation was
given before he knew of your arrest. I presume you would like him to
come?”
“Who is Captain Armstrong?”
“I think he is the very man we want. Until a year ago he was a
commander in the navy, but he had to leave the service owing to a
serious injury to his knee. He was a very capable officer, and would be
an ideal commander of our war-ship. Of course, he has been told nothing
of the nature of the expedition, but I should imagine that it is just
the thing that would appeal to him. At one time he was in command of
the _Thistle_, a gunboat on the west coast of Africa, and he knows
every inch of the coast. It was there that my brother first met him.”
“Good; I shall be glad to meet the captain. Fix up the appointment
with Alvarez for ten o’clock. By that time, we may have come to an
arrangement with Armstrong, and he will be useful at the interview.”
“I will go and telephone,” Drake answered, but he did not move at once,
and Gaunt was conscious that he was being regarded with deep sympathy.
“Well? What is it?” the latter cried irritably.
“I should like to say how sorry I am that this has happened. It was
diabolical of the Baron to have caused such a lying story to be told in
court.”
“The Baron will be repaid. His pocket shall suffer, and he will feel
that more than any other punishment.”
Alone, Gaunt stared moodily before him, and sat motionless for a long
time. His pride was hurt that his wife should write him such a letter,
and in his anger he could not make allowances for her. And yet it was
but a few hours ago that they had been supremely happy, and it was
difficult to realize that she had left him. But there was much to be
done, and in work he would seek forgetfulness.
For a long time he struggled with himself, and when at last he went
up-stairs to dress for dinner, all traces of distress had left
his face. His manner was calm and collected as he greeted Captain
Armstrong, and the two men were attracted by one another at the outset.
In appearance the latter was the typical naval officer, a man of few
words, but thoroughly efficient.
It was not until they were smoking their cigars in the library that
Gaunt broached the subject.
“I want you to treat my proposal as a confidence,” he began.
“Certainly, sir,” was the prompt answer.
And Gaunt proceeded to outline the scheme, to which Captain Armstrong
listened with close attention, and it was noticeable that he asked no
questions until the millionaire lapsed into silence.
“I do not propose to understand your motive, but I assume that it is a
philanthropic one,” Armstrong said quietly.
“You are right in your assumption,” Drake broke in quickly.
“Philanthropy coupled with a desire for revenge,” Gaunt added drily.
“I can better understand the latter. Of course, your plan is a
dangerous one.”
“Is it feasible? That is more to the point,” Gaunt interrupted.
“I can see no reason why it shouldn’t succeed. As a matter of fact I
was up on the Tyne a few weeks ago and saw the San Salvador cruiser.
She is capable of doing all the work you would require, for the Congo
defenses are not very strong.” The captain paused a moment and then
continued gravely: “Yes, I am of opinion that we could safely ‘hold up’
the Congo; that is, until some European power sent war-ships to crush
us.”
“You use the word ‘we,’” Gaunt remarked significantly.
“Intentionally, sir, for I should like to join you. The Admiralty has
no further need of my services, and thinks that my groggy knee makes
me useless. As a matter of fact I believe that I am as capable of good
work in the navy as ever I was. The last twelve months have been a
terrible nightmare to me. I have found myself wandering from Devonport
to Portsmouth, from Portsmouth to Chatham, and I have been utterly
miserable. The service was life to me, and I am only too glad to get
back to harness, even if it is to engage in what practically amounts
to a piratical expedition. We certainly ought to see some fun,” the
captain wound up, and there was a merry twinkle in his eye.
“We shall be all right for men below deck, engineers and mechanics, but
we are rather short of trained gunners,” Lindsay Drake said, speaking
for the first time.
“I dare say I can put my hand on a few men. Please tell me exactly how
far you have gone, and then we can make our arrangements,” Armstrong
said cheerfully.
“Shall we first settle your position, captain? You will be in command
of the cruiser to all intents and purposes, but of course, my say in
the policy will be the final one,” Gaunt said quietly.
“That is only reasonable. You will find me a loyal pirate.”
Edward Drake rose to his feet, and his face was deeply flushed.
“Mr. Gaunt said that revenge was part of his motive, but I must tell
you that the idea originated with one motive, and only one; namely, to
free a nation that is being cruelly tortured, and done to death. I
hope that I am a Christian and my conscience tells me that I am doing
right in joining this expedition. Every other means has failed, and it
is only as a last resource that we are about to use force,” he said
earnestly.
“I appreciate and respect your motive, Mr. Drake. More than that, I
understand it. But I will be equally frank. I have agreed to join you
for the fun and sport of the thing. You must take me on those terms, or
not at all,” Armstrong answered with an engaging smile.
“Drake, we won’t discuss the expedition from an ethical point of view.
Captain, I am glad to have met you, for I think that you are the man we
want. There is only one other matter to settle—the question of salary,”
Gaunt said with a smile.
“That is soon settled. I am not a poor man, and as I said before, I
come for the fun of the thing or not at all; but stay, I don’t mind a
thousand of these excellent cigars,” Armstrong answered, as he inhaled
a deep breath.
And then they began to discuss details with animation and it was
arranged that Captain Armstrong should take complete charge of all that
concerned the cruiser. While they were in the middle of the discussion
Señor Alvarez was announced, and was at once brought to the library.
The South American’s manner was of a suavity that was oppressive, but
he evidently had a keen eye to business.
“The position is this,” Gaunt said bluntly. “You haven’t enough money
to complete the purchase of the cruiser. As a matter of fact, I know
that you won’t require the war-ship for at least six months, for you
won’t be ready till then to deal with your troublesome neighbor. I am
willing to pay the balance of a hundred thousand pounds to the builders
and you can formally take over the cruiser. You will have as crew
our men, and Captain Armstrong will meet you at an agreed place. In
consideration of my having made the payment, you will lease the cruiser
to us for six months.”
“I do not know the purpose for which you require the ship,” Alvarez
said, “and how shall we stand if you fail to deliver her to me at the
end of six months?”
“I am willing to enter into a bond to pay for the full value of the
ship should I fail to deliver her,” Gaunt replied.
“And you will not tell me to what use the cruiser will be put?”
“It isn’t necessary for you to know, señor, but I may say that I am
willing to give you a check for twenty thousand pounds of which you may
make any use you wish,” Gaunt said significantly.
This bribe closed the matter, and it was arranged that the check should
be dated a month hence.
“I take that precaution, señor, and I tell you plainly that if you talk
to any one of our little arrangement, the check will be stopped. I
require secrecy,” Gaunt said bluntly.
“Which I will gladly give—at such a price,” Alvarez added under his
breath.
After the South American had left, the discussion was resumed, and it
was late when the party broke up.
“You think that we can be ready in a fortnight?” Gaunt asked of
Armstrong.
“Yes. I shall go to Newcastle in the morning. I shall let it be
understood that I have entered the service of San Salvador, and Alvarez
must back me up. If he does so, I can go on working without arousing
any suspicion,” the latter answered.
“That is an excellent idea. You must not come to my house again.
Captain Drake had better take up his quarters at an hotel, and you can
communicate with him. I shall not be surprised if the Baron keeps a
pretty close watch on my movements,” the millionaire remarked.
When Drake and Gaunt were alone, neither of them showed any inclination
for bed. The former was silent for a while, for he was trying to devise
a means of reconciling Lady Mildred to her husband, while Gaunt was
thinking of his wife.
“I am sure that Lady Ethel will be your friend. She will do all that
she can to bring her sister back,” Drake said suddenly.
“You believe that?” Gaunt answered incredulously.
“Yes, for she will know that Lady Mildred’s happiness will lie in you.
I sometimes think that you do not do justice to your sister-in-law. She
is not the frivolous woman you imagine her to be.”
“I fear that you are prejudiced in her favor.”
“Good-night,” said Drake hurriedly.
Gaunt held out his hand and a smile flitted across his face.
“My friend, I am not blind, and I wish you more luck than I have had,”
he said quietly.