“Who are you?” he gasped, his eyes stark and staring. “I—I didn’t know—I ain’t——”
He stopped, refusing to believe, and groped for the precious mess plate, part of the makeshift periscope which his own keenness had discovered and rendered useless. Then he stood again, fumbling the thing in his clumsy hands and staring, all bewildered, at the traitor who had used it to betray his country.
Was it——? It could not be—— But the years had wrought more change in Tom himself than in the man who stood there glaring back at him, half recognizing.
Yes, it was his own brother, William Slade, who had left home so long ago!
CHAPTER XII
HE IS FRIGHTENED AND VERY THOUGHTFUL
And this was the triumph of Sherlock Nobody Holmes! This was the startling discovery with which he would astonish his superiors and win their approbation! It was not Sherlock Nobody Holmes who heard in a sort of daze the whispered words that were next uttered. It was just the captain’s mess boy, and he hung his head, not so much in crushing disappointment as in utter shame.
“Come inside here and keep still. How’d you get on this ship? Nobody’ll be hunting for you, will they? Come in—quick. What’s the matter with you?”