“See who it is, men!� ordered Kennedy.
The sailors seemed all to be armed, for several revolver barrels shone in what little light there was as they came breaking their way through the shrubbery.
“There is no use trying to hide our presence now,� was all Nick said to the porter, as he prepared for battle. “This means fight.�
“That suits me,� responded Mike. “I supposed it was what we came out for to-night.�
The philosophy of the porter made Nick forget a little of his chagrin at the way his plans had been upset. He felt that, though the odds were so much against them, he had a man by his side who would help him to leave a[Pg 31] mark on their adversaries, no matter how the fracas came out, and that was the main thing under the circumstances.
Nick pushed the shrubbery apart, and, with Mike close on his heels and his automatic pistol gripped in his steady fingers, he stepped out to the open sandy beach.
Keeping the oncoming sailors at bay by raising his left hand authoritatively—although the leveled automatic in his right may have had something to do with it—he looked straight into the face of the first mate of the yacht, as a fugitive gleam of moonlight fell across it.
“So!� ejaculated Nick Carter. “It is you, Kennedy?�
“That’s what I’m called,� was the defiant response.
“I heard your name spoken just now, but I did not know that it was you,� went on Nick. “It is some time since we met. I might have known that only the brilliant and complex mind of Mademoiselle Valeria could have devised and carried out this strange series of kidnapings at the Hotel Amsterdam. Then, of course, that yacht out there is the Idaline.�