Vane was almost at the rail of the Kite before anybody on board saw him.
Then Harding, in coming out of the cabin, saw the rascally crew.
A sharp cry escaped his lips.
“Barney—Pomp!” he cried, excitedly. “On deck quickly! The brigands are here!”
The way Barney and Pomp grasped their weapons and tumbled on deck was a caution to monkeys.
And just at this moment Harding came face to face with Vane.
The meeting was a tableau worthy of an artist.
Vane had believed his former friend and victim of the cliff dead at the bottom of the Andean gorge.
To see him here now upon the air-ship’s deck was like looking upon one brought back from the dead.
Vane stood like a livid statue for a moment.