He asked Chap where the Winkyminky lay, and then told him that he would go up to the other end of the island, and if the countess and other passengers who might want to go on board the Giles could be brought to him without delay, he would wait for them, but that not a moment of time must be lost.
At this instant a cry was heard from the upper deck.
When Chap heard that cry, he sprang to his feet, and nearly fell backward out of the boat. Well he knew the voice, especially when it called his own name.
“Helen!” he exclaimed.
And sure enough, there was Helen leaning over the railing of the upper deck, and by her side was Mr. Godfrey Berkeley.
When Chap saw his sister, he was at first utterly astounded. He simply stood and looked at her. Then he made a step forward to climb on board the steamboat. Then, at the same instant, he remembered the countess left on the lonely shore. A brief but sharp struggle took place within him.
The captain again called out that no time must be lost, and that he could not wait long, and one of the hands ordered his negroes to back away from the steamboat.
As far as he was concerned, there was no reason why he should not jump on board and rush to his sister, who was saying all sorts of things to him from above. But there was that countess! Oh, how he wished that he had brought her along with him! It would not do to trust those negroes to go back after her. They would bungle everything, and never get to the Giles in time. He had come on the lady’s errand, and was bound in honor to go back to her.
The bell in the engine-room tinkled, and the negroes backed out of the way of the moving wheels.
“I’ll come back directly, Helen!” screamed Chap. “I’ve got to fetch a countess! And now you fellows lay yourselves out! Another dollar apiece if you get us on board the Giles in time.”