“This stuff seems to be all right. I don’t see that anything is missing. But I’ll have to compare them with my list before I can be sure.”
He shoveled the jewelry back into the suit case as if he had no personal interest in the valuables, and shut the case with a snap.
“You will have two men to guard my prisoner, Captain Lawton,” he said shortly. “I shall have to hold you responsible for his safe-keeping. But I am not afraid that he will get away. I don’t see how he can, so long as he is kept down here. He couldn’t get out of any of the portholes.”
“He won’t get away!” grunted Captain Lawton. “I’ll answer for that.”
“All right! You’ll be paid for any trouble you have to take, of course. I’ll take this stuff ashore to my hotel, and keep it until I get instructions from New York.”
“I’ll be glad to see it off my ship,” declared Captain Lawton. “If you like, I’ll send a couple of men ashore with you, to help you guard the stuff till you put it away. I suppose you’ll stow it in the hotel safe.”
“Yes,” answered Rayne carelessly. “That will be the best place for it. Meantime, I can look after it myself. You will hear from me some time during the day.”
He took the suit case in his hand, and, with a grim smile under his heavy mustache, walked to the companionway and up to the deck.
His impulse was to make a rush for his boat. But the Apache had too much control of himself to yield to such an inclination. Instead, he sauntered over to the head of the sea ladder and shouted to his two oarsmen.
“Aye, aye, sir!” responded one of them, as they brought the craft up to the small platform at the foot of the ladder. “All right, sir!”