"That will be the best way to get at the subject."

"In the first place, we are to engage in an attempt to shake off the pirate; for she is not only a nuisance, but a constant menace to certain members of the party," added Scott.

"All that has been admitted by the commander; though, as I happen to be one of the individuals, I may say I have not the slightest fear of anything the pirate can do."

"You have been through quite a number of perilous adventures, Louis, and you have got used to such."

"I don't throw myself into such adventures, but I can't deny that they have afforded me not a little of exhilarating excitement," replied the young millionaire. "It was you who proposed the plan to the commander which was adopted, and we are now to carry out."

"And I hope no weakness in either the ship or the Maud will cause it to be a failure. At the signal from the Guardian-Mother the Maud is to run for the island of Cyprus, distance a trifle less than two hundred knots, while the ship is to continue on her course. Then it will remain to be proved what the pirate will do. I think she will follow the Maud, though Captain Ringgold is in doubt about it; and of course I don't feel sure."

"Our machinery was overhauled by the chief engineer of the ship while we were in Egypt, and it is yet to be shown what speed she can make."

"But the pirate is not good for more than thirteen knots at the most, for we have tried it on with her. In my judgment Captain Mazagan will board us if he can, and take one of our number out of the Maud; and that is the reason why I think it was a mistake that you remained with us."

Louis could not yet see the mistake, and did not believe it was necessary that the Maud should be boarded; for that would be an act of downright piracy.

CHAPTER III

A MOMENTOUS SECRET REVEALED

"Three whistles from the Guardian-Mother," said Felix, the lookoutman, walking up to the forward windows of the pilot-house, and speaking with a low voice.

"Three whistles, and I heard them, Flix," returned Captain Scott, as he put the helm to starboard. "Where is Morris?"

"I think he is in the cabin studying a.s.syria and Babylon," replied Felix with a mild laugh, as he thought this was an odd occupation for the first officer of the Maud; for he was little inclined to be a student himself, though he was an attentive listener at the lectures.

Felix returned to his place in the bow, and directed the spy-gla.s.s, which he carried with him most of the time, whether on duty or not, in the direction of the Fatime. He had a taste for the business of a detective in the higher walks of that profession, and the commander had recognized his ability. He had been employed to ascertain whether the pirate was in the waters of Egypt, having been the first to suspect her presence; and he had proved the fact beyond a doubt.

Accompanied by John Donald, the second engineer of the Maud, who spoke Arabic, he had followed Mazagan to Rosetta, where he found the Fatime, having evidently made a port there to escape the observation of the commander of the Guardian-Mother and his people. The villain and his a.s.sistant had failed to lead Captain Ringgold into the traps set for him.

Having failed in their attempts to accomplish anything at Alexandria, the conspirators had followed the party to Cairo. Louis and Felix were sitting on a bench in the Ezbekiyeh, a park in front of their hotel, when Mazagan and the Frenchman approached them, and wished to make a compromise, which the Moor desired the young millionaire to recommend to the commander. The agent of the Pacha informed the young man that he was to receive a reward of forty thousand dollars for the capture and conveyance to Mogadore of either Louis or Miss Blanche, or both of them, or one-half that sum if he failed; and he proposed to compromise.

The use of the steam-yacht was given to him to accomplish this purpose.

Mazagan was, or pretended to be, discouraged by the several failures he had made in effecting his object, and he proposed that the commander should pay him twenty thousand dollars, and then he would collect the other half of the promised stipend of the Pacha, as the promised reward in case of failure.

The pirate proved that he was a very mean and treacherous pirate, as willing to sell out his friend as his foe, and Louis was more disgusted than ever with him. He spoke his mind freely to the villain, and absolutely refused to recommend the treachery to the commander. He would as soon have compromised with the Evil One for the sale of his principles. The approach of Captain Ringgold terminated the interview, and the rascals made haste to retreat. After this they made an attempt to capture Louis, and the detective had been shot in the shoulder.

What the conspirators intended or expected to accomplish since these failures of course none of those interested could know, and it only remained for them to watch the movements of the Fatime, and to be constantly on their guard against any possible attempt on the part of the reprobates to carry out their purpose. Only the commander of the Guardian-Mother and the three members of the "Big Four" could take these precautions, for no others knew anything at all about the necessity for them.

Felix used his gla.s.s very diligently. The Guardian-Mother did not change her course, and the Moorish steamer, which was now hardly a mile from her, was still headed to the eastward. Whether the latter would dodge into the port of Rosetta or Damietta, or give chase to the Maud, was yet to be demonstrated; and the lookoutman was watching for a movement of this kind.

"The ship is stirring up a good deal of salt water under her stern,"

said Felix, walking over to the pilot-house. "You can see by the power of smoke she is sending out at her funnel that the chief engineer is driving her."

"I can see that she has increased her distance from us; but according to the commander's orders I have directed Felipe to run her not more than eight or nine knots," replied the captain of the Maud. "How far ahead of the Guardian-Mother is the pirate, Felix?"

"Not more than a mile, as nearly as I can make it out," replied Felix.

"But she is making the fur fly, and if the pirate don't want her to come alongside of her, or get a position where her people can overlook her deck, she will change her course within the next ten minutes;" and the lookoutman returned to his place in the bow.

"It is lucky for that pirate that your humble servant is not in command of the Guardian-Mother," said Captain Scott.

"Do you think yourself competent to command a steamer like the Guardian-Mother, my dear fellow?" asked Louis, with a rather quizzical expression on his face.

"I know I am!" exclaimed Captain Scott emphatically; and he did not lack confidence in himself. "Why not? If I can navigate the Maud, I could do the same with the Guardian-Mother; for the size of the vessel don't make any difference in the navigation as long as both of them go out to sea off soundings. I suppose you doubt what I say?"

"I do not; for I am not a qualified judge in the matter," replied Louis, who was considerably surprised at the amount of confidence the captain of eighteen years of age had in himself. "But why is it lucky for the pirate that Captain Ringgold, instead of Captain Scott, happens to be in command of the ship?"

"Because I should serve her as the commander did another steamer of about the size of the pirate, on the run of the ship from Bermuda to Na.s.sau, I believe it was, for I was not on board at the time," replied the captain, with decision enough in his tones and manner to indicate that he would do what he suggested. "I have heard Flix tell all about the affair; and in his estimation Hercules and General Grant were nothing at all compared with Captain Ringgold, when he tells the story.

I think he believes the commander is the greatest man that is or ever was in this world, with the possible exception of yourself."

"That steamer was sailing illegally under the name of the Maud, for her proper name was the Viking; but Captain Ringgold ran into her and smashed a big hole in her port bow."

"As I would in one of the bows of the pirate."

"But there was a reason for it; I was a prisoner on board of that Maud, or Viking--captured as this pirate would serve me if he got a chance."

"I would sink him before he got the chance, rather than after he had picked you up," persisted the captain.

"I doubt if that would be a prudent measure," replied Louis, shaking his head.

"The pirate has changed her course to the southward," said Felix, coming to the window of the pilot-house again.

"What does that mean?" demanded the captain.

"It means that she is going to make a port at Rosetta."

"She is about off the Rosetta mouth of the Nile; but she is doing that only to shake off the Guardian-Mother. What is the ship doing, Flix?"

"She continues on her course, and takes no notice of the pirate;" and the lookout returned to his station.

Captain Scott rang the gong in the engine-room, and the screw of the Maud immediately ceased to revolve. The sea was comparatively smooth, and the little steamer rolled on the waves but slightly. As soon as the screw stopped, and the little craft began to roll on the long swell, Morris Woolridge put aside the "Chambers's" in which he had been reading up a.s.syria and Babylon, and went out of the cabin into the standing-room. He looked about him to ascertain the cause of the stoppage; but he could make nothing of it.

He was a good skipper himself, and he did not like to ask Captain Scott to explain the situation; for since he had gone into the cabin the relative positions of the three steamers had decidedly changed. His idea was that the Maud should follow the ship as usual; but she had dropped at least a couple of miles astern of her, and the Fatime was headed to the southward. He could not understand the matter at all, and he continued to study upon it.

Louis had come out of the pilot-house, and, looking aft, he discovered Morris, and saw that he was perplexed by the situation, and that a.s.syria was no longer the subject of his meditations.

"Morris is in the standing-room, and I have no doubt he is wondering why we are wasting our steam just here, when the ship is going ahead at full speed," said he to the captain. "Don't you think the time has come?"

"No doubt of it," answered the captain.

These last remarks may seem a little mysterious; but the present situation had been foreseen by Captain Ringgold. Morris was the first officer, and if the momentous secret was to be kept from him any longer, it would require an amount of lying and deception which was utterly repugnant to the principles of both the commander and Louis. The representative of the Woolridge family on board of the Maud must be left with his father and mother and sister on the ship, or the whole truth must be told to the son. Thus far no lies had been necessary; and the captain did not believe it would be wrong for him to conceal what would be dangerous to the peace of mind of his pa.s.sengers.

As long as Captain Ringgold conscientiously believed that neither Miss Blanche nor Louis was in any peril, he considered it his duty to conceal from their parents the plot of the Pacha and his agents. He was sure that neither Mrs. Woolridge nor Mrs. Belgrave would consent to continue the voyage even in the face of a very remote danger to their children.

He had abundant resources on board, including his two twelve-pounders, for their protection; and he had used them on one occasion, though his pa.s.sengers did not understand the reason of the attack made on the Maud.