"Joey!" he said suddenly, his thoughts reverting to a chance remark made
to him in Valparaiso by Isobel's father, "what did Mr. Baring mean by
saying there was a difficulty about the insurance?"
Joey gave it up, but he cocked his ears and looked towards the door.
Christobal entered.
"Boyle will recover," he said, when he had wiped the spray off his face.
"He had a narrow escape; the knife just grazed the spinal cord. The
shock to the dorsal nerves induced temporary paralysis, and that rather
misled me. He is much better now. Under ordinary conditions he would be
able to get about in a few days. As it is, he will probably live as long
as any of us."
Christobal waved a hand towards the external void. He was not sailor
enough to realize the change in the weather.
"That is good news," said Courtenay.
"I thought you would like to know. How are things up here?"
"Better. The barometer has risen an inch in less than two hours.
Possibly, nearness to the land has some effect, but wind and sea are
subsiding."
"You surprise me; yet that is nothing. I have had several surprises
to-night. What is the position? Of course, we must hit the South
American continent sooner or later; can you fix an approximate time?"
"We are making about six knots, I fancy. If we are lucky, and avoid any
stray rocks, we should see daylight before we reach the coast. That is
our sole hope. The ship is in a powerful tidal current, and it is
high-water at 5.30 A.M. At a rough estimate, Hanover Island is twenty
knots distant. Now you know all. The outcome is mere guesswork."
"Why did the furnaces blow up?"
"I was cross-examining Joey on that point when you came in. He reserved
his opinion. My own view is that, by accident or design, some explosive
substance found its way into the coal."
"Shem, Ham and Japheth! Explosive substance! Do you mean dynamite, or
gunpowder, or that sort of thing?"
"Something of the kind. That is only a supposition, but when I whispered
it to Walker he agreed."
"Walker! Is he the man who speaks so queerly?"
"If ever you go to Newcastle, don't put it that way. I told him to take
Miss Maxwell to her cabin. Did he do so?"
"Yes. I have not seen her since, so I assume that the bromide, plus the
wine, was effective. Well, I must return to my patients. Can I get you
anything? I am store-keeper, you know."