A shadow crossed in front of me, and I hailed again. It was a man, and he was coming from below, from the sunken lower decks. He came up the staircase of the lower saloon, and darted along the passageway to port.
"Hey, there! Stop!" I yelled.
The man turned, and in an instant I recognized him. It was the Vicomte Raoul.
He eyed me with a savage look, and waited for me to come up.
"What ees it you want?" he growled.
"Just you!" I told him. "Don't you know you are in danger of getting killed down here?"
"And how does that matter interest you?" he retorted, with those shrugging shoulders and arched eyebrows he could handle so well.
"It don't, except that, as I'm an officer, it's my duty to see you leave the ship under orders of the captain."
"I noticed you were not so queek to have me leave dees sheep when I first started," he sneered, "and eef I go back for my jewels, my valuables, eet ees no affaire of yours—eh?"
"It is only to the extent that I must see you off the vessel," I said.