The four men stood stock still. They had caught sight of Chéri-Bibi's head rising cautiously above the gunwale with the purpose, obviously, of scrutinizing the immediate precincts. What the four bandits anticipated did in fact happen. Failing to understand why the Nut kept him waiting so long, Chéri-Bibi, in a state of some uneasiness, made up his mind to go back the way he had come and see for himself the reason of the delay.
The Parisian and his confederates saw him get out of the launch and crawl along the jetty, moving with the greatest precaution, and stopping to listen for any suspicious sounds that might disturb the silence of the night. Thus he reached the beach. As had been already stated, it was easy to keep out of sight because of the great mass of high rocks which overhung the sea shore. It was entirely different from the beach at Kourou and the mainland. That part of the island is flat and devoid of vegetation.
Thus Chéri-Bibi, who was well screened by the rocks, continued his way without obstacle; but, on the other hand, he could not see the four runaways, who were less than thirty feet away from him, because of those very rocks.
After he had disappeared in the semi-darkness, the four men, in their turn, crawled on to the jetty and thence dropped into the launch. It did not take them long, but they were no sooner settled in her than the Burglar gave the alarm. Chéri-Bibi was coming back.
They concealed themselves in the deck-house, hardly daring to breathe, waiting for what would come next. Why had Chéri-Bibi returned so quickly? Had his suspicions been aroused? The Nut's redoubtable friend filled them with such terror that they were afraid of his shadow like children who, passing through the forest at night, fear the were-wolf.
They were unarmed. Chéri-Bibi must have weapons, and even if it were not so, they would make very little, the four of them, in his huge paws. Moreover, they knew that certain persons who had a fancy to thwart his plans paid for it with their lives. They had abundant reasons for keeping quiet.
But what was Chéri-Bibi doing? They no longer had him in view. He had disappeared behind the engine. Soon, however, they saw him stand up and make off once more with the same degree of caution as before. When he had vanished from sight the Burglar, who had been an engine driver in his time, whispered:
"Hurry up, you fellows. Break the padlocks of the mooring chains."
The three men were applying themselves to the work when a frightful oath uttered by the Burglar made them turn round:
"Chéri-Bibi has taken away his part of the engine," he cried.