'It cannot be helped,' said I, keenly disappointed nevertheless, for I had counted upon finding a revolver, scarcely doubting that a man in charge of such a ship's company as these coloured fellows formed would go to sea well armed.
With all haste possible we transferred to the mate's cabin a bag of charts, a couple of sextants, a chronometer, and other matters of a like sort, and then with sickened hearts closed the door upon that tragic interior of the Captain's berth. I looked through the contents of the bag, and found a large blue-backed chart of South Africa, with marginal illustrations of the principal ports, harbours and headlands.
'This will do,' said I, and rolling it up, I put it under my arm, and, accompanied by Abraham, stepped through the cuddy door.
My eye once more as I passed fell upon the dreadful stain ingrained in the plank of the deck, and observing Punmeamootty speaking with another man a little forward of the mainmast, I was about to call and order him to scrape out the odious shocking blotch. But at the same instant it crossed my mind to let it be: it was a detail to fit into our stratagem, and I whispered the fancy to Abraham as we quitted the cuddy. I believed that all this while Helga was below in her cabin, and I was leaning over the little hatch that led to our quarters to call to her, when she pronounced my name from the deck overhead, and on looking up I saw her standing at the brass rail with Nakier.
'Shall Oi go forward an' get my breakfast or keep along with you, Mr. Tregarthen?' said Abraham.
'Keep with me for a little time,' I answered, and he followed me on to the poop.
Nakier's fine eyes glowed, and his face was lighted up with an expression of admiration and pleasure. It was manifest at the first glance that Helga had not spared her simple pretty arts in conversing with him.
Her first words to me were:
'Nakier has been talking to me about his native country. Oh, what a happy land of flowers and birds and a thousand other delights must it be!' She clasped her hands as though in rapture, and added: 'I shall hope some of these days to visit that shining country.'
'This is all very clever and happily devised, and well done,' thought I, stealing a peep at Nakier, who was steadfastly regarding with undissembled admiration the girl's sweet fresh face, that was faintly flushed by her enactment; 'but if we three men should be made away with——' I choked off the hurry of ugly fancies that swarmed on top of the thought of that dark princely-mannered villain falling in love with her, and exclaimed: