a
coin with precious stones!"

"Anne's Edward VII. half-sovereign," shouted Giles. "This is from her."
The letter, written in pencil, merely said, "Prisoner--yacht--Bilbao."

"Steel," cried Giles, "Morley has taken her to Bilbao! We follow."

CHAPTER XXV

A CATASTROPHE

About noon the next day Steel and Giles were on their way to Bilbao.
This prompt following of Morley was due to the fertile resource of Ware.
He remembered that a friend of his possessed a yacht which was at
present lying in Dover Harbor. The friend, Lord Kingsbridge, fortunately
happened to be in London, and Giles wired an appointment. With Steel he
went up to Town on that same night and drove at once to the Wanderers'
Club, where Kingsbridge was waiting for them. Giles explained the
situation, and secured the yacht at once. "The boat is quite ready to
start," said Kingsbridge. "All you have to do is to get steam up. I was
thinking of going on a cruise myself, and so had _The Firefly_ put in
order."

"Why not come with us to Bilbao, my lord?"

"Thank you, Mr. Steel, but I have to wait in town for a day or two, and
time is everything in this matter. If you take the first morning train
to Dover, you ought to be on your way to Spain in the afternoon. When
did this other boat start?"

"Yesterday afternoon from Gravesend," said Giles.

"Well, my yacht's a quick one, so I daresay you will be able to catch
this other one before she gets to her destination. You'll have bad
weather, I fear," said Kingsbridge; "there's a storm getting up."

"I don't care if it blows the world out of the solar system," cried Ware
savagely; "I'm going to catch that man."

"And the lady? Well, good luck to you, Ware."

"Thank you, Kingsbridge. I shan't forget your kindness," replied the
young man, and departed with Steel in hot haste.

Thus it happened that the two found themselves on board _The Firefly_
steaming for Bilbao at top speed. The boat was two hundred tons, yacht
measurement, schooner-rigged fore and aft, with powerful engines and
twin screws. When all her furnaces were going she could smoke through
the water at surprising speed, and her captain having received
instructions from Kingsbridge, drove her south for all she was worth. He
was a pleasant young fellow called Calthorpe, and when he heard that the
trip was being made to rescue a lady took a personal interest in the
affair. He made up his mind to catch _The Red Cross_ before she reached
Bilb