ill be the same as on the last occasion, provided he lands
us safely at the place which I shall name to him as soon as we are on
board. But only half that amount, if, by any carelessness on his part,
the scheme is unsuccessful. I shall expect to hear from you within an
hour. Be careful, however, that your messenger does not arouse any
suspicions at the hotel. We do not want the English authorities put upon
their guard."

Wisemann accompanied us to the door, and bowed us out. After that we
returned as quickly as possible to our hotel. My delight may be imagined
on hearing from Pharos, who visited her as soon as he returned, that
throughout the time we had been absent Valerie had been sleeping
peacefully, and was now making as good progress toward recovery as he
could desire.

At nine o'clock, almost punctual to the minute, a note was brought to
Pharos. He opened it, and having read it, informed the man that there
was no answer.

"Wisemann has arranged everything," he said. "The steamer Margrave of
Brandenburg will be ready to pick us up in the river at the hour
appointed, and in fifty hours from the first revolution of her screw we
should be in England."

"And what would happen then?" I asked myself.

CHAPTER XVII.

When the sun rose on the following morning, nothing but green seas
surrounded us, and the Margrave of Brandenburg was doing her best to
live up to the reputation I soon discovered she possessed--namely, of
being the worst roller in the North Sea trade. She was by no means a
large craft, nor, as I soon remarked, was she particularly well found;
she belonged to a firm of Altona Jews, and, as the captain was wont to
say pathetically, "The only thing they did not grudge him was the right
to do as much work on the smallest amount of pay on which it was
possible for a man to keep body and soul together." The captain's
nationality was more difficult to determine than that of his employers.
He called himself an Englishman, but, unfortunately for this assertion,
his accent belied him. In addition to English, he spoke German like a
Frenchman, and French like a German, was equally at home in
Russian--which, to say the least of it, is not a language for the
amateur--Italian also, while in a moment of confidence he found occasion
to inform me that he had served for three years on board a Spanish
troop-ship, an assertion which would lead one to suppose that he was
conversant with that language also. In poin