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By Root 24154 0

Brunsbüttel (fifteen miles up), which is the western terminus of the ship canal to the Baltic. Such at least had been his original intention; but, putting two and two together, I gathered that latterly, and perhaps unconfessed to himself, his resolve had weakened, and that he would have followed the Medusa to Hamburg, or indeed the end of the world, impelled by the same motive that, contrary to all his tastes and principles, had induced him to abandon his life in the islands and undertake the voyage at all. But on that point he was immovably reticent, and all I could conclude was that the strange cross-current connected with Dollmann's daughter had given him cruel pain and had clouded his judgement to distraction, but that he now was prepared to forget or ignore it, and steer a settled course.

The facts I elicited raised several important questions. Was it not known by this time that he and his yacht had survived? Davies was convinced that it was not. 'He may have waited at Cuxhaven, or inquired at the lock at Brunsbüttel,' he said. 'But there was no need, for I tell you the thing was a certainty. If I had struck and _stuck_ on that outer bank, as it was a hundred to one I should do, the yacht would have broken up in three minutes. Bartels would never have seen me, and couldn't have got to me if he had. No one would have seen me. And nothing whatever has happened since to show that they know I'm alive.'

'They,' I suggested. 'Who are "they"? Who are our adversaries?' If Dollmann were an accredited agent of the German Admiralty--But, no, it was incredible that the murder of a young Englishman should be connived at in modern days by a friendly and civilized government! Yet, if he were not such an agent, the whole theory fell to the ground.

'I believe,' said Davies, 'that Dollmann did it off his own bat, and beyond that I can't see. And I don't know that it matters at present. Alive or dead we're doing nothing wrong, and have nothing to be ashamed of.'

'I think it matters a good deal,' I objected. 'Who will be interested in our resurrection, and how are we to go to work, openly or secretly? I suppose we shall keep out of the way as much as we can?'

'As for keeping out of the way,' said Davies, jerkily, as he peered to windward under the foresail, 'we _must_ pass the ship canal; that's a public highway, where anyone can see you. After that there won't be much difficulty. Wait till you see the place!' He gave a low, contented laugh, which would have frozen my marrow yesterday. 'By the way, that reminds me,' he added; 'we must stop at Kiel for the inside of a day and lay in a lot of stores. We want to be independent of the shore.' I said nothing. Independence of the shore in a seven-tonner in October! What an end to aim at!

About nine o'clock we weathered the point, entered Kiel Fiord, and began a dead beat to windward of seven miles to the head of it where Kiel lies. Hitherto, save for the latent qualms concerning my total helplessness if anything happened to Davies, interest and excitement had upheld me well. My alarms only began when I thought them nearly over. Davies had frequently urged me to turn in and sleep, and I went so far as to go below and coil myself up on the lee sofa with my pencil and diary. Suddenly there was a flapping and rattling on deck, and I began to slide on to the floor. 'What's happened?' I cried, in a panic, for there was Davies stooping in at the cabin door.

'Nothing,' he said, chafing his hands for warmth; 'I'm only going about. Hand me the glasses, will you? There's a steamer ahead. I say, if you really don't want to turn in, you might make some soup. Just let's look at the chart.' He studied it with maddening deliberation, while I wondered how near the steamer was, and what the yacht was doing meanwhile.

'I suppose it's not really necessary for anyone to be at the helm?' I remarked.

'Oh, she's all right for a minute,' he said, without looking up. 'Two--one and a half--one--lights in line sou'-west by west--got a match?' He expended two, and tumbled upstairs again.

'You don't want me, do