And he did not have long to wait.
Ten minutes passed, and then the detective heard the sound of approaching steps along the deck of the outer cabin, and a moment later the door was thrown ajar, and Captain Sparkle stepped into the compartment and closed it behind him.
He did not perceive Nick until he was well inside the room, and then, for an instant, he stood rooted to the spot where he was, as if his powers of motion had suddenly become paralyzed by what he saw before him. But the detective did not move.
He had raised his revolver when the pirate passed through the door, and the first intimation that Sparkle had of his presence was when he discovered an image of himself, seated in his own chair, and found that he was covered by a revolver in the grasp of that image.
“What sort of fool’s play is this, Hortense?” he demanded, then. And at the same instant he took a step nearer.
It was at once plain that he supposed that the woman, during his short absence, had attempted this masquerade, but he was quickly undeceived.
“I am not Hortense,” replied Nick calmly. “Neither am I Captain Sparkle, although I do not doubt that I resemble him. Stand back, Mister Pirate, if you value your life! You are my prisoner! Chick!” he added. “Kane! Come here!”
If Sparkle had for an instant thought of throwing himself upon this daring intruder, he controlled himself. The sudden appearance of two other men upon the scene convinced him that this was no time for resistance, and he shrugged his shoulders with the utmost nonchalance, apparently, while Chick glided between him and the door through which he had entered, and Kane backed off to the opposite side of the cabin, and also covered him with a revolver.