Doctor Garnet realized that it would not be well for Ethel to remain exposed to the chill dampness of the night. He was also aware that she had taken no nourishment throughout the day, and was, therefore, in a peculiarly susceptible condition. So he steered the launch close in to shore, seeking eagerly for the lights of some friendly hamlet. But to-night there was a landward breeze, so that all lights were extinguished to avoid attracting the mosquitoes. There were only the smudges burning, and these rarely showed any blaze underneath the drifting clouds of smoke. It was the custom to stifle at once any flare of the fire, in order to maintain the smoke at the densest.
It was the fishermen's lights between Hunting Quarter and Cedar Island that gave the Doctor his first glimpse of life anywhere in the vicinity. Many boats had passed him going up and down the water way, but this strange man had studiously avoided hailing them, or being hailed by them. He was not willing to run the risk of being reported by any craft so encountered.
Then, presently, he observed twenty-five or thirty of the lights burning upon the water within a radius of a half mile. Some of them appeared to be directly on the water's edge, while others were scattered over the surface of the Sound. He wondered greatly at the weird sight, but his drug-crazed nerves left him no courage to investigate the phenomenon. But, of a sudden, the blanket-wrapped form in the bow stirred. There came the gentle noise of a healthy yawn, and then the girl's voice called:
"Doctor Garnet! Won't you please take me home—wherever that is—or some place where there is food? I'm just as hungry I can be!"
"Yes, Miss Marion," the physician answered glibly. "We'll soon be where there is both food and shelter. I'm so glad to find you improved! My patient will soon be herself again."
"Yes," the girl agreed, "I am improved, Doctor. I feel quite myself again, and I'm wondering where I am and what has happened. I must have been unconscious for some time," she added thoughtfully, "for the ankle I sprained while boarding The Isabel is almost well. Do you know, there is very little I remember after that? I recall the awakening in the morning and the finding that the yacht was at sea and then your coming to my assistance when I discovered that I was locked in my room. Please, Doctor, won't you explain this whole affair to me? Were we kidnapped by river thieves, and did you succeed in escaping with me? Somehow, I have an impression that we're a long way from New York Harbor." Even in the faint light from the moon, Ethel could see that the physician was perturbed by her questioning. The fact startled her, aroused a vague suspicion. She spoke now with an authoritative quality in her voice.
"Doctor, what is the meaning of this reticence? Why do you show such emotion? Has something dreadful happened? Surely, an explanation is my due."
Garnet perceived that he had at last a sane, sensible woman with whom to deal. He knew that it would be necessary for him to treat her as such, to give her a satisfactory and rational explanation. But he had the cunning of that partial madness induced by the drug. He meant to have that cunning stimulated to even a greater degree. For even while the girl was speaking, he contrived to arrange another charge for the hypodermic. To avoid attracting her attention, he did not even roll up his sleeve to insert the point into his flesh. Instead, he inserted it through coat and shirt. In an emergency such as this, he had no need for the aseptic niceties characteristic of his profession. He had no thought of bacteria from the cloth to infect the wound. His sole concern was to feel within him the increased thrill of the morphia. His nerves must be at their best to combat the inquisitiveness of this intelligent young woman, now in the possession of her normal mind. He understood perfectly that his narrative of events must contain such a skillful mingling of truth and falsehood as to leave her without any doubt whatsoever concerning his own integrity. Otherwise, there must come disgrace for himself, the ruin of his career. He spoke then suavely, genially even.
"Right you are, Miss Ethel. You were kidnapped—taken miles and miles from your home. I trust you are strong enough now to hear the story—properly censored—that I have to tell you. I think, though, it will be sufficient, for the time being, to inform you that you are now absolutely safe. I regret to advise you that The Isabel is no more. She was driven on the rocks, and is a total wreck. Yet, perhaps, it is better so. Your kidnapper was trying to run out into the open sea when the tempest was such that no yacht of such tonnage could have endured the fury of the waves. So the wreck probably saved your life, for you were rescued unharmed with the exception of a mild concussion of the brain, which left you unconscious for some time. And you may be glad now, since you have aroused from the stupor, that you have no memory of the many harrowing scenes connected with this affair. I also was rescued, and am doing my utmost to return you to your friends safe and sound. To-night, we're going northward on the waters of Core Sound, off the North Carolina mainland. The great sand dunes of Core Banks, which you have admired so many times in passing through these waters while cruising with your father, are just visible off the starboard bow in the moonlight. Off the port bow are many tiny lights, which I confess are a mystery to me. I have a suspicion, however, that they are shown by fishermen craft. I think it best to head for them in the hope that we may obtain shelter and food. And now, my dear patient," the Doctor concluded briskly, "please let this statement be sufficient for the time being. Then, by-and-by, I will tell you in full the most wonderful story of adventure that any little New York girl has ever experienced."
"Thank you, so much!" Ethel responded gratefully. "Now that I've had this much of the story from you, I'll promise to be as patient as possible. Just the same, I'm awfully anxious to hear it all in its completeness. I love adventure, and I am afraid I can't exactly be sorry that I've lived through one myself. I'm more sorry for poor father down there on that desolate border, for I know how he is looking forward to another cruise in the poor Isabel. I must wire him promptly, so that he'll be able to have the yacht duplicated without delay."