tch
through which the Lascar had vanished, deliberately refastened it. In
a few moments Renshaw returned with a light, and found the old man
sitting on the hatch.

"The loft door was open," said Renshaw. "There's little doubt whoever
was here escaped that way."

"Surely," said Nott. There was a peculiar look of Machiavellian
sagacity in his face which irritated Renshaw.

"Then you're sure it was Ferrieres you saw pass by your window before
you called me?" he asked.

Nott nodded his head with an expression of infinite profundity.

"But you say he was going FROM the ship. Then it could not have been
he who made the noise we heard down here."

"Mebbee no, and mebbee yes," returned Nott, cautiously. "But if he was
already concealed inside the ship, as that open door, which you say you
barred from the inside, would indicate, what the devil did he want with
this?" said Renshaw, producing the monkey-wrench he had picked up.

Mr. Nott examined the tool carefully, and shook his head with momentous
significance. Nevertheless, his eyes wandered to the hatch on which he
was seated.

"Did you find anything disturbed THERE?" said Renshaw, following the
direction of his eye. "Was that hatch fastened as it is now?"

"It was," said Nott, calmly. "But ye wouldn't mind fetchin' me a
hammer and some o' them big nails from the locker, would yer, while I
hang round here just so ez to make sure against another attack."

Renshaw complied with his request; but as Nott proceeded to gravely
nail down the fastenings of the hatch, he turned impatiently away to
complete his examination of the ship. The doors of the other lofts and
their fastenings appeared secure and undisturbed. Yet it was
undeniable that a felonious entrance had been made, but by whom or for
what purpose still remained uncertain. Even now, Renshaw found it
difficult to accept Nott's theory that de Ferrieres was the aggressor
and Rosey the object, nor could he justify his own suspicion that the
Lascar had obtained a surreptitious entrance under Sleight's
directions. With a feeling that if Rosey had been present he would
have confessed all, and demanded from her an equal confidence, he began
to hate his feeble, purposeless, and inefficient alliance with her
father, who believed but dare not tax his daughter with complicity in
this outrage. What could be done with a man whose only idea of action
at such a moment was to nail up an undisturbed entrance in his i