"I shall pay you your exact fare," I said, "and if you take my advice
you will go on at once."
He met my gaze with an expression of truculent defiance.
"Two pound," he repeated, "or we take you over there and leave you."
He waved his hand in the direction of the desolate sandbanks which
stretched along the farther side of Leixoes harbour. "You not get
boat then," he added, grinning maliciously; "you stop there and lose
sheep."
It has always been an axiom of mine that when you have got to have a
row the quicker and more vigorously you start work the better. The
man's face was only a few feet away from me, and, without a second's
hesitation, I made a swift lunge forward, and struck out with all the
force that I was capable of. He saw what was coming and grabbed for
his weapon, but just as he drew it from its sheath the blow crashed
home on the point of his chin, and sent him reeling over backwards
into the arms of his companion. Slipping from his hand, the knife
tinkled down on to the floorboard of the boat, and the next instant I
had snatched it up and was standing over the confused heap of arms
and legs which represented the vanquished enemy.
"Now," I said, "are you going on, or am I going to chuck you both
into the harbour?"
For a moment there was no answer; then, with an effort, the gentleman
in the bow slithered out from under his companion and sat up,
blinking and gasping. He was evidently a poor-spirited ruffian
compared with the other, for his face had gone the colour of putty,
and he eyed me with absolute terror.
"You had better make up your mind quickly," I added.
He nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, yes," he exclaimed; "we take
you to sheep"; and, without waiting for any further developments, he
seized hold of his discarded oar and plunged it furiously into the
water.
"Well, you won't do it by rowing round in a circle," I observed. "We
must try what first aid for the injured will do."
I picked up a rusty tin from under one of the seats, and, filling it
with water, poured the contents over the head of the sleeping beauty,
who still lay in a huddled mass between the two seats. For such a
simple remedy it worked with surprising efficiency. There was a
grunt, followed by a convulsive start, and then, shaking himself like
a drenched Newfoundland dog, the patient slowly arose from his
recumbent attitude.
I scowled at him ferociously. "Oh, you've waked up, have you?" I
said. "Catch hold of your oar, and don't let me hear another word
from you before we reach the ship."
If looks could kill I should have dropped dead in the boat, but,
nature having fortunately arranged otherwise, no such unpleasant
tragedy occurred. Without a word he proceeded to carry out my
instructions, and the next moment we were moving on towards the
_Neptune_ at a considerably brisker pace than we had hitherto
achieved.
Going back to my place in the stern, I reseated myself beside Miss de
Roda.
"You have made me change my opinion," she said, in a delightfully
tranquil voice. "In future I shall attach more importance to first
impressions."
"I hope you didn't mind," I answered apologetically. "I couldn't
think of anything else to do for the moment."
She shook her head, with the same gleam of amusement in her eyes that
I had seen before.
"On the contrary," she said, "I am extremely obliged to you. I have
the greatest possible objection to being cheated." She paused, and,
bending sideways, looked out ahead of us. "I wonder if anybody on
the ship saw what happened," she added. "There seem to be several
people leaning over the side."
I fancied I could detect a faint trace of anxiety in her voice, as
though she rather dreaded the possibility she referred to.
"I don't suppose so," I said comfortingly. "The sun's in their eyes,
and we were some distance off."
"It's only my uncle I am thinking of," she exclaimed. "As long as no
one says anything to him it doesn't matter in the least. He is not
very well, you know, and I shouldn't like him to be upset or--or
annoyed."
She brought out the last word with some hesitation, and then stopped,
as though rather regretting that she had made use of it.
"I'm sure it will be all right," I repeated. "There's something very
deceptive about the Portuguese atmosphere. If anybody imagines they
saw anything, I shall let them know that they were making a mistake."
By this time we had drawn close enough to the _Neptune_ to be able to
distinguish the small group of people who were watching our approach.
It was with a certain feeling of discomfort that I recognised amongst
them the burly figure of Ross, for I knew that, whatever the others
might have missed, nothing would have escaped his singularly
observant eye. Still, I comforted myself with the thought that he
was the last person who would be likely to gossip unnecessarily, and
that it was only I myself who would be the victim of his amiable
banter.
As our two boatmen brought us alongside the ship in sullen silence, a
sailor who had been waiting at the top of the ladder ran down and
caught hold of the gunwale. I guessed from his expression that he
also had been an intelligent witness of our little disturbance, a
suspicion which was fully confirmed by his opening remark.
"Been 'avin' trouble with 'em, sir?" he enquired.
I assisted Miss de Roda out of the boat, and collected the one or two
small parcels which I had brought with me.
"It was a case of sudden illness," I explained. "One of our friends
here was taken faint, and I had to pour some water over his head. He
is feeling better now."
The sailor said nothing, but I saw him glance with an appreciative
grin at the scowling face of the supposed invalid, which was
beginning to show distinct traces of its recent contact with my fist.
This scowl became even darker when I handed over a two shilling
piece, and stepped up unconcernedly on to the bottom rung of the
ladder, leaving the knife lying behind me on the seat. I fancy that
its owner would have given all his earthly possessions to jump up
after me and plunge it into my back, but if so his longing had to
share the fate of many another splendid aspiration in this
disappointing world.
As I reached the deck, under a fire of rather curious glances from
the small knot of passengers who had gathered there, I noticed Miss
de Roda, a little distance apart from the others, apparently waiting
to speak to me. Ross, who was still leaning over the rail, made no
effort to attract my attention, so, passing through the group, I
walked up to where she was standing.
"Here is my shilling, Mr. Dryden," she said, holding out her hand;
"and thank you very much for saving me the other nineteen."