CHAPTER X

A SILENT ENEMY

Bilkins rushed into my room at daylight announcing perfect weather and
the _Orchid_ sailing some twelve miles astern of us. While dressing I
wondered how she could have fallen so far behind, but assumed that our
men on watch must finally have lost her. As this seemed to be a
reasonable explanation, since the later the night the more probability
of her company having settled down and become quiet, I dismissed these
speculations of no consequence for a feeling of thankfulness that she
had not escaped us.

Gates was on his way to call me when I came out, and one look at his
broad smile required no further augury of good news.

"We're arfter her hard, sir," he said, "and have been drawing up farst
this hour gone. We'll be in hailing distance in another two hours, or
less."

"There's a good wind?"

"Fair, sir. The mate, who's aloft, says that for some reason she's
hauled down everything but mains'l and jib, and carn't be making any
speed to speak of. Still, she's going along. We've quite some canvas
set. He says there was noise enough to follow till about five bells of
the morning watch; then she grew so still he wondered if she'd sunk.
You'd better have breakfast, sir, for we'll be on her, as I say, in two
hours or less."

This was Tommy's idea when I met him with Monsieur in the cabin, but
Tommy was always ready for breakfast. They had become reconciled--or,
perhaps, I ought to say the professor seemed to have forgiven both of us
handsomely. Gates sat down with us for there was much to talk about. In
fact, the professor, in his uncontrollable and passionate appetite for
grapefruit, had scarcely extruded a spray of its juice in our
direction--the usual evidence with us that breakfast had seriously
begun--when the question of how we should board the _Orchid_ was raised.
The old skipper listened to my plan, then to Tommy's, and after these he
turned to our little scientist, who waved a hand with no small degree of
impatience, saying:

"One is visionary, the other is crazy. One wants to blow her out of the
water--with what? The other wants to do something no one can
understand--and why? But they both agree upon killing everyone on board
except a privileged lady. It is school-boy tomfoolery!"

"Tomfoolery your grandmother," Tommy flared up. "What do you suggest
that's any better--the utopian scheme you sprung on us last night?"

"How do you know we have to board her?" Monsieur thrus