The Captain glanced at Laura and restrained himself.
“I should probably say a great many things which I should regret afterwards,” he replied grimly.
“Sit down and we’ll tell you what has happened in my room,” Quest continued.
He told the story, calmly and without remark. The Captain held his head.
“Of course, I’m convinced that I am a sane man,” he said, “but this sounds more like a Munchausen story than anything I’ve ever heard. I suppose you people are all real? You are in earnest about this, aren’t you? It isn’t a gigantic joke?”
“We are in deadly earnest,” the Professor pronounced gravely.
“I have been down to the pantry,” Quest went on. “The porthole has been open all day. It was just possible for a man to have reached the cups of bouillon as they were prepared. That isn’t the point, however. Craig is cunning and clever enough for any devilish scheme on earth, and that card proves that he is on board.”
“The ship shall be searched,” the Captain declared, “once more. We’ll look into every crack and every cupboard.”
Lenora turned away with a little shiver. It was one of her rare moments of weakness.
“You won’t find him! You won’t ever find him!” she murmured. “And I am afraid!”