Now that the lights were on, Professor Gunn came crawling cautiously over the rail onto the deck of the yacht, to which the steamer had been made fast.
“Hum! ha!” he coughed. “I must see that nothing is neglected. Proceed with the search, gentlemen.”
Medjid Bey, the owner of the yacht, lighted a Turkish cigarette and puffed away with indifference as the boarders began searching the yacht.
It did not take long to search the small, but elegant craft from one end to the other, and not a trace of Nadia or Bunol was found.
Budthorne was infuriated. He seemed almost deranged.
“What have they done with her?” he cried. “What have they done with my sister?”
Brad and Dick held a consultation in low tones.
“We’re tricked, pard,” said the Texan. “The Spanish snake and the dirty Turk have fooled us. What can we do? They’ve carried Nadia off. I’m for taking that Mohammedan varmint by the throat and squeezing the truth out of him.”
“I’m afraid we can’t get at the truth that way,” said Dick. “It is a bad piece of business.”
“Bad! Pard, if that Spaniard harms a hair of Nadia’s head I’ll skin him alive! You hear me warble! I’ll kill him by inches!”