“You must!”
“I won’t. I’ll——”
A hand fell on the young man’s arm. Marie Fitzhugh stood beside him.
“The gold is gone,” she moaned.
“Gone!”
“Yes! The strong room on the Orkney has been broken open. The boxes are there, but they are empty. Some one has been before us. The gold is gone.”
“Impossible.”
“It’s true. I ordered the divers on board. They are coming over the side now. We must flee. Quick, Captain! Full speed ahead.”
The engine bells clanged, and the yacht shook to the throb of the screws. Rapidly she gathered way. Another shot from the battery on the cliff hissed over her, and still another went wide. Then a turn in the channel shielded her from farther danger.
It was not until half an hour later that it was learned that Professor Shishkin had disappeared.