“Well, I guess he must know he’s doing a dangerous thing.”
“Señor Kenwardine does know, but he plays for high stakes and takes the risks of the game. If it had not been necessary, he would not have ventured on British soil, but since he was forced to go, he thought the boldest plan the safest. This is what one would expect, because the man is brave. He could not tell how far my suspicions went and how much Señor Brandon knew, but saw that he was watched and if he tried to hide his movements he would betray himself. It was wiser to act as if he had nothing to fear.”
“As he was forced to go, his business must be important,” Dick said thoughtfully. “This means he must be dealt with before he lands at Kingston. If we allowed him to meet his confederates there, the mischief would be done, and it might be too late afterwards to stop them carrying out their plans.”
Don Sebastian gave him a quiet smile. “One might learn who his confederates are if he met them. It looks as if you would sooner deal with our friend on board.”
“I would,” Dick said steadily. “His plotting must be stopped, but I’m inclined to think I’d be content with that.”
“And you?” the Spaniard asked, turning to Jake.
“I don’t know that Kenwardine is in the worst of the plot. He was a friend of mine and it’s your business to prove him guilty. I mean to reserve my opinion until you make your charges good.”
“Very well,” said Don Sebastian. “We’ll be guided by what happens when we see him.”
They let the matter drop, and half an hour later a white light and a green light crept out of the dark to seawards, and a faint throbbing grew into the measured beat of a steamer’s screw. Then a low, shadowy hull, outlined by a glimmer of phosphorescence, came on towards the harbor mouth, and a rocket swept up in a fiery curve and burst, dropping colored lights. A harsh rattle of running chain broke out, the screw splashed noisily for a few moments and stopped, and a launch came swiftly down the harbor.
“The port doctor!” said Dick. “There’s some cargo ready, and she won’t sail for three or four hours. We had better wait until near the last moment before we go on board. If our man saw us, he’d take alarm and land.”