"Ay, ay, sir," a voice answered him cheerily from out of the gathering darkness, and Sallie saw that he almost smiled to himself as he staggered toward the companion-hatch.
There he would have fallen, spent, but that she, at his shoulder, caught hold of him and held him up till Slyne came to her assistance. And they together got him safely below.
"Gimme brandy," he gasped, as he lay limply back in the chair on which they had set him. His lips were white. His overworked heart had almost failed him under the strain he had put on it.
The stimulant still served its purpose, however. He sat up again, revived.
"But that was an uncommon close call!" he commented, half to himself. "I felt blind-sure I'd have a bayonet through my back before I could play my last card. And I didn't believe I'd win out even with that. But here I am, and—" He turned to the girl at his side.
"Don't stand there idling, Sallie," he ordered querulously, "when there's so much to be done. Tell Ambrizette to bring me a bull's-eye lantern. Go up and see if the decks are clear yet. Send Reuben Yoxall down to me as soon as they are. And then get ready for going ashore. You'll have to wear something that won't be seen—but take a couple of Arab cloaks in a bundle with you as well."
At that Jasper Slyne spoke, divided between doubt and anger.
"What devilment have you in your mind now, Dove?" he demanded. "You surely don't mean to—You told me yourself that there's nothing but dangerous desert ashore here."
"Never you mind what I mean to do, Mister Slyne," Captain Dove answered him with a gratified grin, picking up the brandy bottle again. "When I want any advice from you, I'll let you know. And, if I ever ask you again to help me into my clothes, you'll maybe be more obliging next time.
"Dutch courage is cheap enough, Mister Slyne," said the old man tauntingly. "So I'm going ashore,—into the dangerous desert,—in a few minutes, with Sallie. But there's nothing you need be afraid of, for you're going to stay safe on board."