I saw no necessity for a reply. There was a few minutes' silence, then he went on:
"The wrecking company is now on the way there, but there has been some trouble experienced with them and with the underwriters. Therefore we've deemed it worth while to send a ship—one of our regular Cape boats on her lay-up voyage—to Lagos, and try for the safe.
"The ship is a total loss, and will be covered all right, but the diamonds are not insured, owing, as I have said, to some disagreement with the underwriters lately, and it has been just our luck to lose them this voyage.
"You are to take the Prince John, and go to Lagos. There you will find the wrecking crew waiting orders. You are to see that we get that safe intact—you understand? We want that safe just as it was before it went to the bottom. Your orders are here." And he handed me a folded document. "You will leave at once."
"Aye, aye, sir," I said, somewhat bewildered, but getting the lay of the thing straight enough. "Is that all, sir?"
"That's all. If you wish anything regarding details, you will see Mr. Smith of the main office. I wish again to impress you that this mission is important."
It struck me so at once. A few millions in diamonds in ten fathoms—in a ten-ton safe! Yes, that was something worth looking after. It was important, all right. Seemed easy enough. Any one who knows anything about wrecking, knows that ten fathoms isn't too deep to work, although it's some little ways down. It depends also upon other conditions, which might or might not prevail. I'd get that safe easy enough—yank it aboard all standing, as we say at sea.
Well, within two days I was standing on the bridge of the Prince John, and wondering how the poor fellows in Africa managed to keep a ship of her class afloat long enough to lay her up.
It was the company's policy to have their African steamers laid up at Cape Town—helped labor, local progress, and all that sort of thing. In reality they got the work done for about half what it would cost them in England.
The Prince John could make ten knots under most favorable circumstances, but as this was her lay-up voyage, she, as might be imagined, was not doing her best. I think she rammed along about eight, most of the way down; and McDougal, the chief engineer, was working like a machinist from daylight till dark to get her to do that.