ad escaped; that somehow these wretches had made
a second escape from the gig, leaving dead men and word of their own
death behind them in the boat. And here the motive was as much a mystery
to me as the means; but, in my present state, both were also matters
of supreme indifference. My one desire was to rescue my love from her
loathsome captors; of little else did I pause to think. Yet Rattray's
visit left its own mark on my mind; and long after he was gone I lay
puzzling over the connection between a young Lancastrian, of good
name, of ancient property, of great personal charm, and a crime of
unparalleled atrocity committed in cold blood on the high seas. That
his complicity was flagrant I had no room to doubt, after Eva's own
indictment of him, uttered to his face and in my hearing. Was it then
the usual fraud on the underwriters, and was Rattray the inevitable
accomplice on dry land? I could think of none but the conventional
motive for destroying a vessel. Yet I knew there must be another and a
subtler one, to account not only for the magnitude of the crime, but for
the pains which the actual perpetrators had taken to conceal the fact
of their survival, and for the union of so diverse a trinity as Senhor
Santos, Captain Harris, and the young squire.

It must have been about mid-day when Rattray reappeared, ruddy, spurred,
and splashed with mud; a comfort to sick eyes, I declare, in spite
of all. He brought me two little vials, put one on the chimney-piece,
poured the other into my tumbler, and added a little water.

"There, old fellow," said he; "swallow that, and if you don't get some
sleep the chemist who made it up is the greatest liar unhung."

"What is it?' I asked, the glass in my hand, and my eyes on those of my
companion.

"I don't know," said he. "I just told them to make up the strongest
sleeping-draught that was safe, and I mentioned something about your
case. Toss it off, man; it's sure to be all right."

Yes, I could trust him; he was not that sort of villain, for all that
Eva Denison had said. I liked his face as well as ever. I liked his eye,
and could have sworn to its honesty as I drained the glass. Even had it
been otherwise, I must have taken my chance or shown him all; as it was,
when he had pulled down my blind, and shaken my pillow, and he gave
me his hand once more, I took it with involuntary cordiality. I only
grieved that so fine a young fellow should have involved himself in so
villai