"Father," she faltered at last, "thank Heaven you have escaped." She looked at him, and, as she did so, Browne noticed the change that came over her face. It was as if she had found herself confronted with some one she did not expect to see. And yet she tried hard not to let the others see her surprise.
"Katherine, my daughter," replied the old man, "do you remember me?"
"Should I be likely to forget?" answered Katherine. "Though I was such a little child when you went away, I can remember that terrible night perfectly."
Here Madame Bernstein interposed, with tears streaming down her face. "Stefan," she sobbed, "Heaven be thanked you have at last come back to us!"
Thinking it would be as well if he left them to themselves for a short time, Browne stepped out of the house on to the deck, and closed the door behind him. He found MacAndrew, Maas, and Jimmy Foote standing together near the saloon companion-ladder.
"Welcome back again," began Jimmy, advancing with outstretched hand. "By Jove! old man, you must have had a hard time of it. But you have succeeded in your undertaking, and that's the great thing, after all—is it not?"
"Yes, I have succeeded," returned Browne, in the tone of a man who is not quite certain whether he has or not. "Now, the question for our consideration is, what we ought to do. What do you say, MacAndrew; and you, Maas?"
"If I were in your place I would get away as soon as possible," answered the former.
"I agree with you," put in Jimmy. "By Jove! I do."
"I cannot say that I do," added Maas. "In the first place, you must remember where you are. This is an extremely dangerous coast about here, and if anything goes wrong and your boat runs ashore, the man you have come to rescue will be no better off than he was before. If I were in your place, Browne—and I'm sure Captain Mason will agree with me—I should postpone your departure until to-morrow morning. There's nothing like having plenty of daylight in matters of this sort."