"And you're a fool!" he shouted, wildly. "It's my brain, I tell you,
that controls it all."
I wrenched myself free, and he switched on the light again, and then
gave a shriek that froze my blood.
I turned with a start, and my flesh prickled as I saw him standing with
madness blazing in his eyes, his attenuated hand extended, pointing to
the far end of the cabin. "Who is that?" he gasped.
"There is no one here but ourselves," I cried, trembling with
apprehension.
"You lie! Look there, and there, and there," and his bony finger pointed
to every corner of the saloon. "And there, and there! _Nom de Diable!_
They are all here!"
"Who are here?" I cried, with a weak attempt at bravado.
"They are; those who have tried to rob me of my secret--those whom you
met at dinner. Ah!" He turned swiftly and moved slowly towards me, his
body half bent, like a wild animal about to spring upon its prey.
"Ah!" he hissed again. "Those you met at dinner. Those you conspired to
bring upon the boat to rob me."
"You're mad!" I shrieked, my courage utterly deserting me.
"Mad!" he raved, pointing about the cabin and grimacing at the imaginary
intruders. "It's you who are mad. All of you, for you've come to your
death. And you're in your coffin now!"
I had gradually crept as far from him as the limited space would allow,
but he still advanced with a stealthy tread; and then, when only a few
inches separated us, and I hid my face in my trembling hands, I realized
that he had halted.
He turned, and, with a bound, made for the switchboard and stopped the
boat, pulled the lever right down, and then, snatching a heavy wrench
from the side, hammered with the fury of a maniac, until the brass and
ebony splintered to fragments, and the handles were snapped off and lay
on the floor.
I could feel the vessel sinking rapidly beneath my feet, and he stood
grinning hideously, until a slight jar showed that we could descend no
farther.
"We are at the bottom of the sea," he chuckled, "and no power on earth
can move us."
With two blows he demolished the compass and steering-gear, and then,
with a shriek of laughter, stood and viewed the wreckage.
And, dazed and bewildered, deprived of power of speech or movement, I
sank back on a seat, the words ringing in my ears, "At the bottom of the
sea, and no power on earth can move us."
How long we remained so who can say? for my senses were numbed. I kept
no count of time, and was only aroused to consciousness as I saw him,
with the wrench still in his hand, creeping towards me again.
I shut my eyes, knowing his purpose, and yet in apathy whether he struck
or not. After what seemed ages I opened them, and he had only advanced
one step. As I waited, so quietly, so slowly, that I could scarce see
any movement, he made another step, and I found myself calculating how
many more would be needful, and how long would be the time before he was
near enough to strike.
Suddenly, as I watched him, the boat gave a lurch, as though the ground
had slipped from beneath it, casting me upon the floor; while he,
flinging up his hands to save himself, missed his footing, and fell
backwards with a crash, his head striking the jagged edges of the
shattered brass-work.
I saw him lying there senseless, and then saw no more, for when I
recovered the electric light was spent, and the cabin was in densest
darkness. The boat seemed to have righted itself, for the floor was
level again, but the air had grown hot and stifling.
Not a sound broke the stillness, unless it was the beating of my heart.
There was naught but silence and inky blackness--the silence of the
tomb, the loneliness of death.
The air seemed to grow more close and stifling, and my breath came in
quick, short gasps. Better any death than this gradual suffocation. If I
could only let the water into the boat, and so die swiftly, it would be
easier. And so I crawled across the floor. Once I touched him, and drew
away; but by his side I found a wrench, and in the darkness I groped on,
till I found the steps to the tower and felt for the glass.
Poor Vanity! the reigning passion with us all. I turned my head, so that
the flying splinters of glass should not cut my face, and brought the
wrench with all my force against the window. It resisted stoutly. But
again and again I struck, until at last, with a crash, it flew outwards.
And then, in that fraction of a second, so strong is the love of life, I
wished I had held my hand.
But there came no torrent of water, only a rush of cold air, and I
realized that I was on the surface of the ocean--realized that when the
madman fell backwards upon the shattered switchboard he must have moved
the lever. But night had fallen again, and so I had not known it.
Trembling the more now that there was hope of escape, I climbed on deck
and waited for the dawn.
And with the first faint streaks upon the eastern horizon came rescue,
for a French cruiser had seen us, and steamed down like the wind to
examine _Le Diable_.
Yet, with it all, the madman kept his secret--and his coffin.
When the boat from the cruiser was but a yard away I glanced through the
open man-hole, and saw that he was moving across the cabin below, and as
I stepped upon the gunwale of the launch _Le Diable_ sank like a stone
from beneath my feet.