ive him some bonbons for himself and his sister. The little bag
was in her hand, when she saw a dingy curtain on her left pushed aside.
A face looked out at her. In a moment her dream came back: there were
the curtains, wrinkled and dingy. Between them peered the face of the
man after whom the mastiffs had rushed--the face of Thomas! He grinned
in recognition of her; he nodded, and, thrusting open the curtains, came
out into full view. Estelle's eyes opened wide with terror. There was
something in the man's expression which appalled her. Greed; an
eagerness he could not conceal; a cunning smile which was made more
terrible by a stealthy movement towards her. For a moment Estelle was
paralysed. Jack's back was turned; his attention taken up by the scene
he had witnessed. Julien Matou stood with his hands in his pockets,
watching it too. Mrs. Wright had gone on; she wished Jack had not
brought them this way, but, since he had, there was nothing for it but
to hurry out of it as quickly as possible. For the time Estelle was
alone. Thomas was nearer to her than any of her friends, and she was
incapable of even crying out for help.

'You here, my little lady?' whispered Thomas, stretching out his hand.
'Come along with me. I will save you.'

Though she shrank back, she yet managed to summon up courage enough to
push his hand away.

Thomas had no time to lose. Estelle must be seized, and he had hopes
that those behind him would back him up. Fargis would not dare to
refuse, he argued. Had he not come to this outlandish place on purpose
to get employment from him? The skipper had proved to be very unwilling,
and they had come to no terms. Now, however, there were golden reasons
for gaining his consent to anything. Once in possession of Estelle, he
could make his own bargain with Lord Lynwood. How high his hopes had
been when he and the Dutchman had carried off the orchid! The Frenchman
had failed them, but they had managed to get it by boat to the nearest
port, and, unsuspected by the police authorities, had reached Holland
safely with the unique plant. He had been 'done' over that business, had
received but half what he expected. Was it his fault that the paper did
not mention where the plant was discovered? The orchid itself was of
immense value, and the sum paid to Thomas, for his share in its capture,
was by no means a despicable one. Like most ill-gotten gains, however,
it had not remained long in his pocket. Driven by ne