The captain gave vent to a low grunt of dissatisfaction, which marked a habit of his. He was a hale and merry fellow, but from what he had said, it was evident he entertained a strong suspicion that he had carried a mysterious passenger. That all traces of the crime had been removed was plain, otherwise old Mr. Keppel would not have invited his captain to talk with him there. Of course he had done this in order to convince Davis that nothing was amiss. Indeed, the millionaire's coolness surprised me, for it was remarkable. Yet it showed plainly one fact, namely, that by some means or other the body of the unfortunate passenger had been got rid of, just as old Branca had declared.
Our host now intended to send on board a box said to contain a statuette, and at the same time, accompanied by his son, to desert his guests and leave the vessel to its fate.
To me there was but one theory: that box he had spoken of would contain the explosive which was destined to send the Vispera to the bottom.
But what was the motive if, as seemed so probable, all evidence of the crime had been completely effaced?
CHAPTER XXI
IS ASTONISHING
We have an ancient proverb in Tuscany which says, "Rimediare al male fin dal suo principio." This very excellent maxim I was endeavouring to carry out. But it is always difficult—extremely difficult, especially for a woman.
When I had at length crept back to my cabin, fearing discovery by one or other of the pair whose interesting conversation I had overheard, I bolted my door and gave myself up to reflection. To act was imperative. The mysterious old man in the Via Magenta, who seemed so well informed as to Keppel's movements, and who had even told me the whereabouts of Ernest, was wrong in his surmise that the dastardly plot to blow up the yacht had been abandoned. The vessel was to sail to her doom. I alone knew the truth, and upon me devolved the duty of saving the lives of all on board.
If I failed, then the millionaire's yacht would be added to that long list of vessels which have sailed merrily from port, never to be seen or heard of afterwards. How many of these have been wilfully blown up for the sake of insurance money or of private vengeance is a question bitter to contemplate, and hard to answer. Certain it is that the elements are not responsible for all the vessels posted at Lloyd's as "missing" during recent years.
Slowly I undressed and entered my berth, but was unable to sleep, so full was my mind of grave thoughts. For a full half-hour I heard tramping in the deck-cabin above me; then all grew silent, and at last I dozed.