CHAPTER XXXII
John Gauntonce again read his wife’s letter with its message: “To my dying day I shall regret that I am your wife,” and the words burnt themselves into his brain. Drake was standing near but spoke no word for he could read tragedy on the face of his friend, and realized that sympathy would be of no help.
“Now I am with you heart and soul. The Baron is responsible for this, and the Baron and his friends shall pay me. Read that,” Gaunt said and passed the letter to Drake. The latter took it hesitatingly, and glanced at the two lines.
“You must not attach too much importance to this,” he said earnestly. “Your wife was upset and already she will have regretted such a message. You must remember that Ruggles’ speech must have sounded horrible to a woman’s ear. Your wife listened to an accusation that you had robbed a man of his native mistress and then had deliberately shot the man that you had robbed. I believe it is not the truth of the charge that has distressed her but the fact that such a charge has been made. She loves you, and her respect for you will have been shattered, her pride in you will have received a grievous wound, and her instinct was to strike back. She knew that the easiest way of making you suffer would be through your love for her—hence this letter.”
“You may be right, but I do not care. She hasleft my house, taking my child with her, and I swear that I will never try to bring her back,” Gaunt cried recklessly.
“You, too, are upset, or you would not say those words. It was in the same mood that your wife wrote to you. I have no doubt that she will be back to-night. You may be sure that she will read Sir Richard’s speech, and will feel ashamed of having acted so hastily.”
There was misery in Gaunt’s eyes, but with a supreme effort he pulled himself together, and going over to the writing-table produced a bundle of papers from a drawer.
“Drake, I shall be glad if you will not again refer to Lady Mildred. You will doubtless be glad that henceforth I shall be able to concentrate my energies on our scheme. We have so far been particularly fortunate, and unless something unforeseen happens, the expedition ought to start within a fortnight. By the bye, what about Alvarez?”
“He is waiting to hear from me. If you wish, I could arrange an appointment for to-night. He appears very anxious to come to an arrangement, for San Salvador badly needs the money.”
“Fix up the appointment; the sooner it is settled the better.”
“My brother has asked Captain Armstrong to dinner. The invitation was given before he knew of your arrest. I presume you would like him to come?”
“Who is Captain Armstrong?”
“I think he is the very man we want. Until a year ago he was a commander in the navy, but he had toleave the service owing to a serious injury to his knee. He was a very capable officer, and would be an ideal commander of our war-ship. Of course, he has been told nothing of the nature of the expedition, but I should imagine that it is just the thing that would appeal to him. At one time he was in command of theThistle, a gunboat on the west coast of Africa, and he knows every inch of the coast. It was there that my brother first met him.”
“Good; I shall be glad to meet the captain. Fix up the appointment with Alvarez for ten o’clock. By that time, we may have come to an arrangement with Armstrong, and he will be useful at the interview.”
“I will go and telephone,” Drake answered, but he did not move at once, and Gaunt was conscious that he was being regarded with deep sympathy.
“Well? What is it?” the latter cried irritably.
“I should like to say how sorry I am that this has happened. It was diabolical of the Baron to have caused such a lying story to be told in court.”
“The Baron will be repaid. His pocket shall suffer, and he will feel that more than any other punishment.”
Alone, Gaunt stared moodily before him, and sat motionless for a long time. His pride was hurt that his wife should write him such a letter, and in his anger he could not make allowances for her. And yet it was but a few hours ago that they had been supremely happy, and it was difficult to realize that she had left him. But there was much to be done, and in work he would seek forgetfulness.
For a long time he struggled with himself, and when at last he went up-stairs to dress for dinner, all traces ofdistress had left his face. His manner was calm and collected as he greeted Captain Armstrong, and the two men were attracted by one another at the outset. In appearance the latter was the typical naval officer, a man of few words, but thoroughly efficient.
It was not until they were smoking their cigars in the library that Gaunt broached the subject.
“I want you to treat my proposal as a confidence,” he began.
“Certainly, sir,” was the prompt answer.
And Gaunt proceeded to outline the scheme, to which Captain Armstrong listened with close attention, and it was noticeable that he asked no questions until the millionaire lapsed into silence.
“I do not propose to understand your motive, but I assume that it is a philanthropic one,” Armstrong said quietly.
“You are right in your assumption,” Drake broke in quickly.
“Philanthropy coupled with a desire for revenge,” Gaunt added drily.
“I can better understand the latter. Of course, your plan is a dangerous one.”
“Is it feasible? That is more to the point,” Gaunt interrupted.
“I can see no reason why it shouldn’t succeed. As a matter of fact I was up on the Tyne a few weeks ago and saw the San Salvador cruiser. She is capable of doing all the work you would require, for the Congo defenses are not very strong.” The captain paused a moment and then continued gravely: “Yes, I am of opinion that we could safely ‘hold up’ the Congo; that is, until some European power sent war-ships to crush us.”
“You use the word ‘we,’” Gaunt remarked significantly.
“Intentionally, sir, for I should like to join you. The Admiralty has no further need of my services, and thinks that my groggy knee makes me useless. As a matter of fact I believe that I am as capable of good work in the navy as ever I was. The last twelve months have been a terrible nightmare to me. I have found myself wandering from Devonport to Portsmouth, from Portsmouth to Chatham, and I have been utterly miserable. The service was life to me, and I am only too glad to get back to harness, even if it is to engage in what practically amounts to a piratical expedition. We certainly ought to see some fun,” the captain wound up, and there was a merry twinkle in his eye.
“We shall be all right for men below deck, engineers and mechanics, but we are rather short of trained gunners,” Lindsay Drake said, speaking for the first time.
“I dare say I can put my hand on a few men. Please tell me exactly how far you have gone, and then we can make our arrangements,” Armstrong said cheerfully.
“Shall we first settle your position, captain? You will be in command of the cruiser to all intents and purposes, but of course, my say in the policy will be the final one,” Gaunt said quietly.
“That is only reasonable. You will find me a loyal pirate.”
Edward Drake rose to his feet, and his face was deeply flushed.
“Mr. Gaunt said that revenge was part of his motive, but I must tell you that the idea originated with one motive, and only one; namely, to free a nation that isbeing cruelly tortured, and done to death. I hope that I am a Christian and my conscience tells me that I am doing right in joining this expedition. Every other means has failed, and it is only as a last resource that we are about to use force,” he said earnestly.
“I appreciate and respect your motive, Mr. Drake. More than that, I understand it. But I will be equally frank. I have agreed to join you for the fun and sport of the thing. You must take me on those terms, or not at all,” Armstrong answered with an engaging smile.
“Drake, we won’t discuss the expedition from an ethical point of view. Captain, I am glad to have met you, for I think that you are the man we want. There is only one other matter to settle—the question of salary,” Gaunt said with a smile.
“That is soon settled. I am not a poor man, and as I said before, I come for the fun of the thing or not at all; but stay, I don’t mind a thousand of these excellent cigars,” Armstrong answered, as he inhaled a deep breath.
And then they began to discuss details with animation and it was arranged that Captain Armstrong should take complete charge of all that concerned the cruiser. While they were in the middle of the discussion Señor Alvarez was announced, and was at once brought to the library. The South American’s manner was of a suavity that was oppressive, but he evidently had a keen eye to business.
“The position is this,” Gaunt said bluntly. “You haven’t enough money to complete the purchase of the cruiser. As a matter of fact, I know that you won’t require the war-ship for at least six months, for you won’tbe ready till then to deal with your troublesome neighbor. I am willing to pay the balance of a hundred thousand pounds to the builders and you can formally take over the cruiser. You will have as crew our men, and Captain Armstrong will meet you at an agreed place. In consideration of my having made the payment, you will lease the cruiser to us for six months.”
“I do not know the purpose for which you require the ship,” Alvarez said, “and how shall we stand if you fail to deliver her to me at the end of six months?”
“I am willing to enter into a bond to pay for the full value of the ship should I fail to deliver her,” Gaunt replied.
“And you will not tell me to what use the cruiser will be put?”
“It isn’t necessary for you to know, señor, but I may say that I am willing to give you a check for twenty thousand pounds of which you may make any use you wish,” Gaunt said significantly.
This bribe closed the matter, and it was arranged that the check should be dated a month hence.
“I take that precaution, señor, and I tell you plainly that if you talk to any one of our little arrangement, the check will be stopped. I require secrecy,” Gaunt said bluntly.
“Which I will gladly give—at such a price,” Alvarez added under his breath.
After the South American had left, the discussion was resumed, and it was late when the party broke up.
“You think that we can be ready in a fortnight?” Gaunt asked of Armstrong.
“Yes. I shall go to Newcastle in the morning. Ishall let it be understood that I have entered the service of San Salvador, and Alvarez must back me up. If he does so, I can go on working without arousing any suspicion,” the latter answered.
“That is an excellent idea. You must not come to my house again. Captain Drake had better take up his quarters at an hotel, and you can communicate with him. I shall not be surprised if the Baron keeps a pretty close watch on my movements,” the millionaire remarked.
When Drake and Gaunt were alone, neither of them showed any inclination for bed. The former was silent for a while, for he was trying to devise a means of reconciling Lady Mildred to her husband, while Gaunt was thinking of his wife.
“I am sure that Lady Ethel will be your friend. She will do all that she can to bring her sister back,” Drake said suddenly.
“You believe that?” Gaunt answered incredulously.
“Yes, for she will know that Lady Mildred’s happiness will lie in you. I sometimes think that you do not do justice to your sister-in-law. She is not the frivolous woman you imagine her to be.”
“I fear that you are prejudiced in her favor.”
“Good-night,” said Drake hurriedly.
Gaunt held out his hand and a smile flitted across his face.
“My friend, I am not blind, and I wish you more luck than I have had,” he said quietly.