His eyes opened, and he gazed
vacantly around. At length he caught sight of the Prince, who
approached him with the revolver well in view.
'It's you, is it?' he murmured faintly. 'What are you doing on board?
Who's tied me up like this?'
'See here!' replied the Prince, 'I don't want to have any arguments,
but this yacht must return to Ostend at once, where you will be
given up to the authorities.'
'Really!' snarled Mr Tom Jackson. 'Shall I!' Then he called out in
French to the man at the wheel, 'Hi Andr?! let these two be put off
in the dinghy.'
It was a peculiar situation. Certain of nothing but the possession of
Nella's revolver, the Prince scarcely knew whether to carry the
argument further, and with stronger measures, or to accept the
situation with as much dignity as the circumstances would permit.
'Let us take the dinghy,' said Nella; 'we can row ashore in an hour.'
He felt that she was right. To leave the yacht in such a manner
seemed somewhat ignominious, and it certainly involved the
escape of that profound villain, Mr Thomas Jackson. But what else
could be done? The Prince and Nella constituted one party on the
vessel; they knew their own strength, but they did not know the
strength of their opponents. They held the hostile ringleader bound
and captive, but this man had proved himself capable of giving
orders, and even to gag him would not help them if the captain of
the yacht persisted in his obstinate course.
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