Burke shook his head. "You may be sure if I considered it safe to run the two vessels together I would have been on board that craft long ago! But we couldn't do it,—certainly not with Mrs. Cliff on the yacht!"
"No indeed!" added Mr. Portman. "Nobody knows what damage they might do us. For my part, I haven't any faith in that vessel. I believe she's no better than a pirate herself!"
"Hold on!" exclaimed Burke. "Don't talk like that! It wouldn't do for the women to get any such notions into their heads!"
"But it is in your head, isn't it, sir?" said Mr. Hodgson.
"Yes," said Burke, "something of the sort. I don't mind saying that to you."
"And I will also say to you," replied the young clergyman, "that we talked it over last night, and we all agreed that the actions of the Dunkery Beacon are very suspicious. It does not seem at all unlikely that the great treasure she carries has been too much of a temptation for the Captain, and that she is trying to get away with it."
"Of course, I don't know anything about that Captain," said Burke, "or what he is after, but I'm pretty sure that he won't dare to do anything to Shirley as long as I keep him in sight. And now I'm going to bear down on him again to hail him!"
The Summer Shelter bore down upon the other steamer, and her Captain hailed and hailed for half an hour, but no answer came from the Dunkery Beacon.
Willy Croup was so troubled by what had happened, and even more by what was not happening,—for she could not see any good which might come out of this persistent following of the one vessel by the other,—that her nerves disordered and tangled themselves to such a degree that she was scarcely able to cook.
But Mrs. Cliff kept up a strong heart. She felt that a great deal depended upon her. At any moment an emergency might arise when she would be called upon, as owner of the yacht, to decide what should be done. She hoped very earnestly that if the Captain of the Dunkery Beacon saw that the Summer Shelter was determined to follow him wherever he went, and whatever he might do, he would at last get tired of being nagged in that way, and consent to give up Mr. Shirley.