“And, having got him, how do you purpose to make him speak, Professor?” demanded Mildmay.
“I shall simply tell him what information it is that I require of him; and if he evinces any disinclination to speak, I shall add that he will be kept without food or drink until he communicates it,” placidly answered the professor.
“And supposing that he should tell you a pack of lies?” suggested Lethbridge.
“Oh, he will not do that, I think,” replied von Schalckenberg. “He is a cruel, unscrupulous, and absolutely selfish man, but, if I have read his character aright, we shall also find that he is far too much of a coward to attempt to deceive us.”
“But what if he should?” persisted the colonel.
“In that case, as soon as I make the discovery that he has deceived me, I shall tell him that he will be kept without food or drink until Colonel Sziszkinski has been found and is actually in our hands,” answered the professor, triumphantly.
“It appears to me,” remarked Mildmay, reflectively, “that unless Count Vasilovich keeps his weather eye lifting, there is rather a rough time ahead of him.”
“There is, in any case,” observed von Schalckenberg, “but it will be no part of my plan to tell him so until I have obtained from him all the information that I require.”
“Well,” said Sir Reginald, “having secured our man, and compelled him to divulge all the information we require of him, what will be our next step?”
“We shall proceed forthwith to Odessa, and ascertain, first of all, whether the convict-ship has sailed,” answered the professor. “If she has not, I shall make it my business to see her, and to take such particular notice of her name and appearance that I may be able to identify her again at sight; but if, as I anticipate, she has sailed, I shall find out, if possible, the date of her sailing, her name, rig, tonnage, and any other particulars that will help us to recognise her when we see her. If she has not sailed, it will be necessary for us to lie in wait for her either in the Black Sea or wherever else may be deemed a suitable spot at which to effect her capture; while, if she has sailed, we shall simply go in pursuit of her.”