"This man is a scoundrel," began the lad who had so suddenly recovered his memory. "For a number of years he was my father's confidential secretary. My father, who had large business interests fell ill, and this man took advantage of him to secure important papers. He sought to ruin my father, and enrich himself.
"There came a time when my father could no longer attend to business, and he went to a sanitarium to be cured. I was an only son, and as there were no other near relatives I stopped at a seaside hotel not far from here. I had only just arrived when I found that this man, James Shallock, was following me. I had certain important papers of my father's and I knew he was trying to get them away from me as they were very valuable.
"I made up my mind to escape. Perhaps I acted foolishly, but I was very much afraid of this man. I decided to go away in my motor boat, which my father had given me just before I went to the seaside hotel. One night I started out, taking the papers with me. I was all alone, and I decided to go to some quiet place in my boat, and there stay until I could communicate with my father. I hoped to throw this man off my track.
"I left one evening, and soon found myself in this bay. I did not know much about navigation, and I soon got off my course in the darkness. Then in the morning the storm came up, and my boat hit some obstruction which threw the steering gear out of order.
"Next something went wrong with my engine, so I shut it down, hid the papers, and drifted at the mercy of the wind and waves, for no boat answered my signals of distress. The storm grew worse, and all the next day I was driven about. Then came a calm, but I could not make land, nor were my signals of distress answered. I drifted farther and farther, and as I had no food or water I soon became partly delirious, I suppose.
"Then came another storm, and I saw some jagged rocks, there was no way of avoiding them. I thought of leaping overboard for I am a good swimmer, but my foot caught in an electric wire. I pulled it from place as I fell, injuring my arm, and this made a short circuit. There was some gasolene, from a leaky tank, on the floor of the cockpit, and this caught fire from the electric spark.
"The storm grew worse. I did not know what to do. Then came an explosion and I found myself in the water. I remember some one calling to me, and taking me on board a sailing vessel, and then it all became a blank. My mind left me."
"That was when we rescued you," spoke Frank, as Paul Bartlett finished.
"But what did you do with the important papers?"
"Wait. Let me think," pleaded the lad. "I put them—"
They all leaned eagerly forward to hear answer. The mysterious man struggled vainly at his bonds.