"How? Where? Is she alive?"
King sprang from his chair, wringing his hands.
"Oh, my God! She is all I have! What has happened? Where is she? Please tell me!"
"Wait a minute," said Nikka quietly. "He's all in. Give him food and some more to drink. That's right, Jack. There's a bottle of whiskey over there. Pour a stiff dram into a cup of coffee, Hugh."
With stimulants to help him, and a cold cloth on his head, Watkins regained control of himself.
"It 'appened so quick I don't rightly know 'ow it was," he said. "We 'ad run out beyond the Princes Islands, and I saw there was little shipping around, your ludship and gentlemen. And then there was a fishing-boat with power bore down on us. Miss Betty and I, we didn't think anything about it until 'e was right on us. Even then we thought they'd only lost control of their rudder like. But when they bumped us and tumbled aboard I knew they wasn't up to no good, your ludship.
"Miss Betty reached for 'er gun, and so did I. But somebody grabbed 'er, and somebody else pushed me over, at the same a chap lashed at me with an iron-weighted club. 'E thought 'e'd knocked my brains out, and 'e would, too, except I fell so fast on account of bein' pushed, I was under the level of the rail when the club 'it me and most of the blow went into the rail. Splintered it, it did, your ludship. And but for that I wouldn't be 'ere."
"And Miss Betty?" questioned Hugh eagerly.
"I don't know, your ludship. When I saw anything again I was lyin' on the floor of the cockpit, dusk was coming on and the launch was drifted far out to sea. They'd stopped the engine. I don't know 'ow I got back 'ere. My 'ead went round and round. But I thought if I could get to you, your ludship and gentlemen, maybe we could think of something else to do. Just give me a chance to lay my 'ands on that 'ere Tootoo! I'll bash 'is 'ead for 'im."
"They did have a spare trick ready," commented Nikka. "Our visit to Hilmi was part of a plot to get hold of Betty. You see, they would have caught her, whether she had gone sailing or not."