"Satisfied now? Seen enough of the bottom?"
"In a moment!" Hewitt shouted back; and he straightway began striding
out in the direction of the ship. Arrived at the bows, he turned back to
the point he started from, striding off again from there to the white
stone he had kicked over, and from there to the vessel's side again.
Merrick watched him in intense amazement, and hurried, as well as he
might, after the light of Hewitt's lamp. Arrived for the second time at
the bows of the ship, Hewitt turned and made his way along the side to
the ladder, and forthwith ascended, followed by Merrick. There was no
halt at the deck this time, and the two made there way up and up into
the lighter water above, and so to the world of air.
On the tug, as the men were unscrewing them from there waterproof
prisons, Merrick asked Hewitt--
"Will you try the 'lotion' now?"
"No," Hewitt replied, "I won't go quite so far as that. But I _will_
have a little whisky, if you've any in the cabin. And give me a pencil
and a piece of paper."
These things were brought, and on the paper Martin Hewitt immediately
wrote a few figures and kept it in his hand.
"I might easily forget those figures," he observed.
Merrick wondered, but said nothing.
Once more comfortably in the cabin, and clad in his usual garments,
Hewitt asked if Merrick could produce a chart of the parts thereabout.
"Here you are," was the reply, "coast and all. Big enough, isn't it?
I've already marked the position of the wreck on it in pencil. She lies
pointing north by east as nearly exact as anything."
"As you've begun it," said Hewitt, "I shall take the liberty of making a
few more pencil marks on this." And with that he spread out the crumpled
note of figures, and began much ciphering and measuring. Presently he
marked certain points on a spare piece of paper, and drew through them
two lines forming an angle. This angle he transferred to the chart, and,
placing a ruler over one leg of the angle, lengthened it out till it met
the coast-line.
"There we are," he said musingly. "And the nearest village to that is
Lostella--indeed, the only coast village in that neighbourhood." He
rose. "Bring me the sharpest-eyed person on board," he said; "that is,
if he were here all day yesterday."
"But what's up? What's all this mathematical business over? Going to
find that bullion by rule of three?"
Hewitt laughed. "Yes, perhaps," he said, "but where's your sharp
look-out? I want somebody who can tell me everything that was visible
from the deck of this tug all day yesterday."
"Well, really I believe the very sharpest chap is the boy. He's most
annoyingly observant sometimes. I'll send for him."
He came--a bright, snub-nosed, impudent-looking young ruffian.
"See here, my boy," said Merrick, "polish up your wits and tell this
gentleman what he asks."
"Yesterday," said Hewitt, "no doubt you saw various pieces of wreckage
floating about?"
"Yessir."
"What were they?"
"Hatch-gratings mostly--nothin' much else. There's some knockin' about
now."
"I saw them. Now, remember. Did you see a hatch-grating floating
yesterday that was different from the others? A painted one, for
instance--those out there now are not painted, you know."
"Yessir, I see a little white 'un painted, bobbin' about away beyond the
foremast of the _Nicobar_."
"You're sure of that?"
"Certain sure, sir--it was the only painted thing floatin'. And to-day
it's washed away somewheres."
"So I noticed. You're a smart lad. Here's a shilling for you--keep your
eyes open and perhaps you'll find a good many more shillings before
you're an old man. That's all."
The boy disappeared, and Hewitt turned to Merrick and said, "I think you
may as well send that wire you spoke of. If I get the commission I think
I may recover that bullion. It may take some little time, or, on the
other hand, it may not. If you'll write the telegram at once, I'll go in
the same boat as the messenger. I'm going to take a walk down to
Lostella now--it's only two or three miles along the coast, but it will
soon be getting dark."
"But what sort of a clue have you got? I didn't----"
"Never mind," replied Hewitt, with a chuckle. "Officially, you know,
I've no right to a clue just yet--I'm not commissioned. When I am I'll
tell you everything."
Hewitt was scarcely ashore when he was seized by the excited Brasyer.
"Here you are," he said. "I was coming aboard the tug again. I've got
more news. You remember I said I was going out with that railway clerk
this afternoon, and meant pumping him? Well, I've done it and rushed
away--don't know what he'll think's up. As we were going along we saw
Norton, the steward, on the other side of the way, and the clerk
recognised him as one of the men who brought the cases to be sent off;
the other was the skipper, I've no doubt, from his description. I played
him artfully, you know, and then he let out that both the cases were
addressed to Mackrie at his address in London! He looked up the entry,
he said, after I left when I first questioned him, feeling curious.
That's about enough, I think, eh? I'm off to London now--I believe
Mackrie's going to-night. I'll have him! Keep it dark!" And the zealous
second officer dashed off without waiting for a reply. Hewitt looked
after him with an amused smile, and turned off towards Lostella.