This injunction was given loudly enough to reach the ears of the men inside, and Nick was satisfied there would be no attempt to break out again—at least, not unless the yacht was recaptured by its original owners.
It was just as this arrangement was effected that a tubbylike figure, in red-and-blue pajamas, came pattering along the deck, holding a revolver in its hand.
“Hands up!� yelled Nick Carter, presenting his jackknife at the face of the pajama man, who, of course, was Jared Spanner.
Mr. Spanner had never been remarkable for physical courage, and he let his revolver fall with a crash on the deck. He could not see what the jackknife was in the gloom, but he took it for granted that it was a heavy firearm of some kind.
“Back to bed!� commanded Nick sternly.
“I heard a noise outside and I left him alone for a minute,� explained Lord Vinton penitently.
Spanner padded back in his bare feet. When he was in the stateroom once more, the detective took the precaution of tying his hands behind him and fastening him in his berth with a rope that was twisted around the iron framework below.[Pg 43]
There was one more important thing to do, and that was to find Mrs. van Dietrich.
With the information he had as to the whereabouts of her cabin, it was not difficult for Nick Carter to discover it. Then he solved the problem of entering, and, after a knock, for propriety’s sake, he went in.
Mrs. van Dietrich was of a philosophical turn of mind. That was proved by the fact that she was in a comfortable bed, with her clothes still on, but with a blanket pulled up under her arms, and sleeping as calmly as if she had been in her own room at the hotel.