Hawley regarded her quizzically. “This is no time for frivolous compliments, Miss Throgmorton,” he said, with mock indignation. “There is too much at stake for that.”
The girl laughed at the way he had turned the tables on her. Then, suddenly, her smooth brow puckered into a puzzled frown. “But there is one thing about your plan which I don’t quite understand,” she told him. “How do you expect to make your escape from the fortress after you get the snapshot? You cannot, of course, use the same boat I’m going to use, and it seems to me that a second boat would be out of the question.”
“Of course it would,” her companion agreed. “There’s only one way that I can see of solving that difficulty: Since I can’t travel on the water, I shall have to travel in it.”
Virginia looked at him in horrified amazement. “Surely you’re not thinking of trying to swim back?” she gasped.
“I guess that’s what I’ll have to do,” was the cheerful reply. “However, there won’t be any trouble about that. I’m a pretty good swimmer.”
Virginia shook her head. “You must give up that idea,” she said firmly. “It would be madness. You couldn’t live ten minutes in those waters, Mr. Hawley. Don’t you know that Puerto Cabero harbor is full of sharks?”
In spite of himself, the Camera Chap grew serious at this announcement. The presence of sharks in the bay was a detail which had escaped his attention when he had formulated his plans. The prospect was decidedly disturbing. Then, suddenly, his face lighted up. “Oh, well,” he said, with a characteristic shrug, “I’ve read somewhere that it’s all a fake about sharks being man-eaters. Anyway, Miss Throgmorton, you’ve got an exaggerated idea of the situation. I’m not thinking of swimming the whole width of the bay. All I’ll have to do is to strike out for the battleship.”
“The battleship?” the girl echoed, her eyebrows arching.
Hawley laughed. “By Jove! If I haven’t forgotten to mention the most important detail of all. Evidently you do not know that the United States battleship Kearsarge steamed into the harbor this afternoon, and is now anchored a quarter of a mile off El Torro. That’s another reason why I feel confident that our little venture is going to be a success.”