The bulky figure of the captain suddenly appeared. The girl looked at him inquiringly. There was an expression on his bluff face that she could not fathom.
“Miss Jarrold, I have some unpleasant news for you,” he said.
“Well, Captain, what is it?” she demanded haughtily.
The big seaman shifted from foot to foot uneasily.
“Your uncle has shot a fireman up in the forecastle,” he said. “Oh, don’t be alarmed; not dangerously, but the men are ugly. Your uncle, too, has confessed to me that there’s a whole lot that is crooked about this cruise and I don’t like it. The United States cruisers are after us, he says.”
The girl bowed her head.
“So I believe. What of it? We have chartered this vessel and it is your duty to obey orders.”
“I beg your pardon, Miss, that’s what I was coming to. It’s my duty to my owners not to get their craft in a position where it can be confiscated by the government. That is what will happen if we keep on running away. The situation amounts to this. The men have got your uncle captured and tied. They say they won’t work the ship as long as he is on board unless he is made a prisoner.”
The girl tapped her foot impatiently.
“Is that all the authority you have over them? Why don’t you drive them to their posts?”