“That is for you to say. Where would it be convenient?”
“How would Panama suit you?”
“It is just the place. We could cross the isthmus to Chagres; but before going to England, I should like to call at La Guayra, and find out whether my friend Carmen still lives.”
“You can do that easily; but if I were you, and had all those diamonds in my possession, I would get home as quickly as possible, and put them in a place of safety. There are men who would commit a thousand murders for one of them.”
“Well, I shall see. Perhaps I had better consign them to London through some merchant, and have them insured.”
“Perhaps you had, especially if you can get somebody to insure the insurer. And take my advice, don’t tell a soul on board what you have told us. My crew are passably honest, but if they knew how many diamonds you carried about you, I should be very sorry to go bail for them.”
As I went on deck after our talk, I was met by the surgeon.
“A word with you, Mr. Fortescue,” he said, gravely, taking me aside, “your wife—”
“Yes, sir, what about my wife?” I asked, with a sudden sinking of the heart, for the man’s manner was even more portentous than his words.
“She is very ill.”