The Case and the Girl

  CHAPTER XXVI

  THE COMING OF DAWN

  West leaned far out, and stared off at the faint blotch made by the raftagainst the water surface. He could perceive little except a bare,shapeless outline.

  "Did you make it? Are you all right?"

  "Yes, I'm safe enough; but wet just the same; the thing bobbed under."

  "It will hold us up though, don't you think?"

  "Why, of course, it will float; it is supposed to support four people. Itrides dry enough now. But--but, Captain West, I want you to come."

  "I'm coming; I'll throw my shoes and coat over there to you first. To berid of them will make swimming easier. Watch out now--good! Now draw inthe line; we may need it. Got it all right? Very well; here goes."

  He made the plunge, coming up to the surface close beside the raft, theedge of which he quickly grasped with his hands. The girl remainedmotionless, barely perceptible through the gloom, but with anxious eyesmarking his every movement. The frail support beneath her rose and fellon the swell of the waters, occasionally dipping beneath the surface.Beyond, a grim, black, threatening shadow, wallowed the wreck. West swamsteadily, urging the unwieldy raft away from the menacing side of thevessel, driven by the necessity of escaping the inevitable suction whenshe went down. It was a hard, slow push, the square sides of the raftoffering every obstacle to progress. Yet the waves and wind helpedsomewhat, the raft being lighter than the water-sogged _Seminole_, sothat gradually the distance widened, until there extended a considerablewaste of water between the two. Exhausted by his exertion, and breathinghard, West glanced back over his shoulder at the dimmer shadow of theyacht, now barely revealed against the clouded sky. The bulk of it seemedscarcely visible in any defined form above the level of the sea--the endmust be almost at hand.

  Satisfied that they were far enough away for safety, he clamberedcautiously upon the platform, the girl as carefully making room for himon the few dry planks. The raft tossed dizzily under the strain, but hemade it at last, the water draining from his soaked clothing, his fleshshivering at the touch of the cool night air. He sat up, his limbsbraced to hold him erect, glancing aside at her, wondering at hercontinued silence. Even in the darkness she must have known his eyes weresearching her face.

  "You are cold," she said, doubtfully. "Here is your coat, and I have keptit dry--no, really, I do not need it; I am quite warmly dressed."

  He threw the garment over his wet shoulders, gratefully, and the two satthere very close together, staring back at the labouring _Seminole_.There was nothing to say, nothing to do; for the moment at least theywere safe, and perhaps morning would bring rescue. Suddenly Weststraightened up, aroused by a new interest--surely that last wave wententirely over the yacht's rail; he could see the white gleam of spray asit broke; and, yes, there was another! Unconsciously his hand reachedout and clasped that of his companion. She made no effort to draw away,and they sat there in awed silence, watching this weird tragedy of thesea, with bodies braced to meet the bobbing of the unwieldy supportbeneath them.

  At first the labouring vessel seemed to hold its own, fightingdesperately to remain afloat, a mere shadow above the surface. Then,almost without warning, the end came. She went down bow first, the sternlifting until West could discern the dark outlines of the screw, and thendropped like a stone, vanishing almost instantly. One moment she wasthere; the next had disappeared, the black waters closing over. There wasbut little evidence of what occurred; only a deeper swell, tossing theraft giddily about for a moment, and causing West to tighten his grip onthe girl's hand. She gave utterance to a half-smothered cry, and her bodydropped forward as though she would hide the scene from her eyes.

  "That is the last of the _Seminole_" West said, feeling the necessity ofstrengthening her. "But it is nothing to frighten you. We are safeenough here."

  "Oh, it is not that," she explained hastily, lifting her head, and facinghim. "I--I do not think I am frightened. I have not broken down before,but--but I thought then of that dead man lying there all alone in thedark cabin. It seemed so terrible when the yacht sank. Please do not findfault with me."

  "That was not why I spoke. But you must keep your nerve; we may be afloatfor hours yet before we are picked up."

  "You are sure we will be?"

  "The probability is altogether in our favour," he insisted, as much toencourage himself as her. "This is Lake Michigan in summer time, andboats are plying everywhere. We shall surely be sighted by something whendaylight returns. There is no sign of a storm brewing, and all we need donow is hold on."

  She was silent a moment, with head again bent forward.

  "What do you suppose became of the men who deserted the yacht?" sheasked, her voice natural and quiet.

  "Ashore, perhaps, by this time."

  "Then we cannot be far away from land?"

  "I have no means of knowing. Probably not, if they relied upon oars."

  "Why should they? There was a mast and sails stowed in the boat; theywere always kept there for an emergency." She lifted her eyes, and staredabout into the gloom. "Do you suppose, Captain West, they could haveremained nearby to make sure the yacht sank?"

  "No, I do not," he said firmly. "I thought of that once myself; but it isnot at all probable. They were too certain they had done a good job, andtoo eager to get away safely. Hogan never deemed it possible for us toget away alive. As it was, the escape was almost a miracle."

  "A miracle!" softly. "Perhaps so, yet I know who accomplished it. I owemy life to you, Captain West," she paused doubtfully, and then went onimpulsively. "Won't you explain to me now what it all means? How you cameto be here? and--and why those men sought in this way to kill me?"

  "You do not know?"

  "Only in the vaguest way; is it my fortune? I have been held prisoner;lied to, and yet nothing has been made clear. This man who went down inthe cabin--you said he died trying to save me?"

  "Yes; he endeavoured to release you from the stateroom, and was caught byHogan. In the struggle he received a death wound."

  "I heard them fight. This Hogan then was the leader?"

  "Of those on board--yes. But he is only the tool of others. This devilishconspiracy has been plotted for a long while. There must be a dozeninvolved in it, one way or another, but, as near as I can learn, thechief devil, the brains of the gang, is the fellow named Hobart. Have youknown him--long?"

  She hesitated, and West glanced aside wonderingly. Would she venture todeny her knowledge of the man?

  "No," she said at last doubtfully, "not unless his other name was Jim.There was a fellow they called Jim. He was my jailer after that womanlocked me into a room."

  "A woman? The same one who was with you on the yacht?"

  "Yes."

  "Where was this?"

  "Why surely you must know. In that cottage where we stopped with PercivalCoolidge."

  He drew a deep breath, more thoroughly puzzled than ever. What could beher purpose to make so bold an effort to deceive? Did she imagine for amoment that he could be made to believe she had been continuously heldprisoner since that Sunday morning? It was preposterous. Why, he had seenher again and again with his own eyes; had talked with her, and so hadSexton. His heart sank, but he determined to go on, and learn how far shewould carry this strange tale. Perhaps out of the welter he could discernsome truth.

  "The fellow's name is Jim, all right, Jim Hobart. I've looked him up inthe police records. He is a confidence man, with one charge of assaultwith attempt to kill against him. Nothing lately, however; it seems hedisappeared about ten years ago, and has just drifted back. The womanpasses as his wife. You knew nothing of all this?"

  "No; I only saw the man twice; he was very rough then, and swore when Iquestioned him."

  "And the woman?"

  "She would not talk either; only once she told me that PercivalCoolidge had committed suicide. That made me wonder, for I believedhe had something to do with my being held there. What did he say whenhe returned to the auto without me? What expla
nation did he make formy absence?"

  "Explanation! He needed none; you came out of the cottage with him."

  "I? What do you mean?"

  "But I saw you with my own eyes, talked with you, and all three of usdrove back to 'Fairlawn' together. My God, Miss Natalie, have you lostyour mind? Do you even deny dismissing me from your service?"

  She gazed at him through the gloom, utterly unable to comprehend.

  "I must have, if what you say is true," she admitted, "For I certainlyhave no such recollection."

  "You remember nothing of going back with us to 'Fairlawn'?"

  "Absolutely nothing."

  "Or of a conversation had with me later in the library?"

  "No, Captain West."

  He stared off into the black night, his lips pressed closely together.Could this be false? Could she sit there calmly, in the midst of suchperil as surrounded them, and still deliberately endeavour to deceive?

  "And you knew nothing of the death of Percival Coolidge, except what wastold you by that woman?"

  "She brought me a newspaper which I read; that was all I knew."

  "And in that house on Wray Street where I met you again last night. Isuppose you were not there either?"

  "Wray Street? I do not know; I was at some place with a saloon on theground floor. I could not tell you where it was."

  "That is where it was--Wray Street, on the northwest side, a thieves'rendezvous. And you talked with me there; tried to get me to quitfollowing you. You surely haven't forgotten that already?"

  She dropped her face wearily into her hands, and her voicesounded listless.

  "I--I almost believe you are the crazy one, Captain West. I swear I havenever knowingly met, or spoken to you since we drove to that cottage onSunday. I cannot believe what you say."

  "Yet it is true, every word true"; he asserted stoutly. "Why else shouldI be here? You returned with us to 'Fairlawn,' and we chatted togetherpleasantly all the way. Later you seemed to change, and discharged merather rudely. Then Percival Coolidge was killed--shot down by anassassin, not a suicide. I know because I found the body. You were at theinquest, and testified. I saw you with my own eyes. The next day youdischarged Sexton, and later he learned, and reported to me, that someone called you on the phone from Wray Street, and wanted you to come overthere at once."

  "Was that why you went there?"

  "Yes; I felt something was wrong; the killing of Percival Coolidge hadaroused my suspicions; and I sought to learn who those people were youhad visited in the cottage. They were gone, and only for this telephonecall, I should have lost the trail entirely. I found you there, and thisfellow Hobart with you."

  "But, Captain West, I never saw you; I never left the room in the thirdstory where I was locked in, except when they took me away in a machineto the yacht."

  "You dropped a note in the alley, enclosed in a silver knife?"

  "Yes, I did. I dared not hope it would be found, but I took the chance.Did you find it?"

  "Sexton did, and that was what brought me here."

  "But it is all so strange," she exclaimed despairingly. "How could I havedone all these things, been in all these places, and yet know nothingabout it? Could I have been drugged? or influenced in some way by thosepeople? I have read there is such a power--where one person can makeanother obey absolutely, with no knowledge of what he is doing; what dothey call that?"

  "Hypnotism. I have seen it cut some odd capers; but I do not believe youwere either hypnotized or drugged. Good God; why did I not think of thissolution before? I must have been blind; that was not you; I can recall ahundred little things now to convince me."

  "What is it you mean?"

  "Another woman played your part; a woman most wonderfully like you, evento the voice. There is no other solution of the problem. And that revealsthe plan of robbery--to get you out of the way, and then have her takethe fortune. Who would ever suspect such a fraud?"

  She sat silent, motionless, apparently unable at once to grasp all themeaning in his words. It seemed unbelievable, and her gaze was straightout across the black waters, one hand clinging firmly to offset therocking of the frail raft. Then she pointed away into the distance.

  "See, there is light over there," she exclaimed eagerly. "That must bethe east, and it is morning."