“Drake, I shall be glad if you will not again refer to Lady Mildred. You will doubtless be glad that henceforth I shall be able to concentrate my energies on our scheme. We have so far been particularly fortunate, and unless something unforeseen happens, the expedition ought to start within a fortnight. By the bye, what about Alvarez?”
“He is waiting to hear from me. If you wish, I could arrange an appointment for to-night. He appears very anxious to come to an arrangement, for San Salvador badly needs the money.”
“Fix up the appointment; the sooner it is settled the better.”
“My brother has asked Captain Armstrong to dinner. The invitation was given before he knew of your arrest. I presume you would like him to come?”
“Who is Captain Armstrong?”
“I think he is the very man we want. Until a year ago he was a commander in the navy, but he had to leave the service owing to a serious injury to his knee. He was a very capable officer, and would be an ideal commander of our war-ship. Of course, he has been told nothing of the nature of the expedition, but I should imagine that it is just the thing that would appeal to him. At one time he was in command of the Thistle, a gunboat on the west coast of Africa, and he knows every inch of the coast. It was there that my brother first met him.”
“Good; I shall be glad to meet the captain. Fix up the appointment with Alvarez for ten o’clock. By that time, we may have come to an arrangement with Armstrong, and he will be useful at the interview.”
“I will go and telephone,” Drake answered, but he did not move at once, and Gaunt was conscious that he was being regarded with deep sympathy.
“Well? What is it?” the latter cried irritably.
“I should like to say how sorry I am that this has happened. It was diabolical of the Baron to have caused such a lying story to be told in court.”