"Well, my yacht's a quick one, so I daresay you will be able to catch this other one before she gets to her destination. You'll have bad weather, I fear," said Kingsbridge; "there's a storm getting up."
"I don't care if it blows the world out of the solar system," cried Ware savagely; "I'm going to catch that man."
"And the lady? Well, good luck to you, Ware."
"Thank you, Kingsbridge. I shan't forget your kindness," replied the young man, and departed with Steel in hot haste.
Thus it happened that the two found themselves on board The Firefly steaming for Bilbao at top speed. The boat was two hundred tons, yacht measurement, schooner-rigged fore and aft, with powerful engines and twin screws. When all her furnaces were going she could smoke through the water at surprising speed, and her captain having received instructions from Kingsbridge, drove her south for all she was worth. He was a pleasant young fellow called Calthorpe, and when he heard that the trip was being made to rescue a lady took a personal interest in the affair. He made up his mind to catch The Red Cross before she reached Bilbao.
"Is she a fast boat?" he asked when The Firefly cleared the Channel.
"Nearly as fast as this craft," replied Mark Dane, who was at his elbow. "She was built for speed."
"H'm," said the captain; "it's stormy weather, and her speed will depend a good deal on the way she is handled. I don't expect she'll do much in the Bay."
Evidently Calthorpe was not going to let his boat be beaten by an outsider. He had never heard of The Red Cross, and believed The Firefly to be one of the smartest crafts afloat. The weather was dirty, and when the gallant little boat lifted the Atlantic waves they were running mountains high. But Calthorpe drove his vessel sheer through them, and never slackened his speed for all their fury. And now it must be explained how Dane came to be on board. The explanation may be given in his own words to Giles.
"When I left you in London, sir," he said, "I wondered where Morley had taken Miss Anne. From what I knew I guessed that he would not carry her to the Priory at Rickwell. It then struck me that he might use the yacht. Since Steel took up the case she has changed her name and her appearance, for Morley and Denham were both afraid lest she might be found out. The gang of course know nothing of my intention to smash up the organization, and I knew that I could get all information from one of them. I sent a wire to this man—he's called Arden—and received information that the boat was at Gravesend by Morley's orders, under the name of The Dark Horse."