"What do you want me to say?" he asked sullenly.

"I want you to tell me the truth, and bear in mind that your life depends on it."

"About the cheque?"

"About the cheque."

"He forged it."

"How do you know?"

"I was in the room with him?"

"You helped him, in fact?"

"I suppose so."

"By G.o.d, you deserve to be hanged if ever a man did," exclaimed the Captain.

"You asked me to tell you the truth, sir," said the man, shrinking back.

"Get on with your story."

"There's nothing much to tell, sir. The scheme worked without a hitch, and everyone was deceived--except Mr. Vayne; he was always doubtful."

"Well, and what did you get out of it? Such a.s.sistance as you gave was invaluable."

"Five hundred pounds."

"H'm, a very profitable stroke of business on your part, especially as it placed you in a position to levy blackmail at will. Now what fee"--an ugly expression crossed the Captain's face as he uttered this--"do you require in consideration of your writing down a full account of that interesting transaction and signing it in the presence of witnesses?"

The other hesitated a moment.

"A thousand pounds in cash and a guarantee that I shall not be handed over to the British authorities as a prisoner of war."

"Agreed. You shall have the money in English and American notes as soon as you have prepared the doc.u.ment."

"And if I change my mind?"

"Why, then," answered Calamity with a genial smile, "it'll be the last time you ever change it on this earth," and, rising, he laid pen, ink, and paper before the prisoner.

"Call the steward when you have finished and he will send for me," said Calamity as he left the cabin.

For nearly an hour the German wrote steadily, pausing every now and again to read what he had written. When at last he had finished he called for the steward.

"Tell the Captain I'm ready," he said as Sing-hi appeared in the doorway.

The Chinaman nodded and a few minutes afterwards the Captain entered, accompanied by Smith and McPhulach.

"Be seated, gentlemen," said Calamity, himself taking a chair. "I have brought you here," he went on, "to witness the signature of a doc.u.ment which this man has written. He will read it over first, and when I tell you that every word is absolutely confidential, I feel sure you will both observe the strictest secrecy. At least," he added significantly, "it will be to your advantage to do so."

The two witnesses murmured a.s.sent and settled themselves down to listen.

Then, at a nod from the Captain, Fritz picked up the paper and began to read. At the start, the engineer and the second-mate looked mildly surprised, but as the man read on their expressions changed to amazement and they stared from the reader to Calamity with looks of mingled incredulity and awed wonder. At length the prisoner, having finished reading the doc.u.ment, laid it on the table and signed it.

"Blimey!" muttered Smith under his breath.

"A michty quare business," remarked McPhulach.

"Now, gentlemen," said Calamity, "I will ask you to append your signatures as witnesses of this interesting confession."

Smith picked up the pen, and, after a preparatory flourish, signed his name. Then he handed the pen to McPhulach, who took it somewhat gingerly.

"I'm no incurrin' ony liabeelity?" he asked cautiously.

"None whatever," answered the Captain.

"I dinna hauld wi' signing papers mesel'," went on the engineer, "it's producteeve of unco----"

"Are you going to sign that paper or not?" interrupted the Captain.

McPhulach hesitated no longer, but hastily scrawled his signature underneath Smith's.

"Thank you both," said Calamity; "that's all I shall need."

Smith and the engineer, taking the hint, departed and left the Captain with his prisoner.

"Now you want your reward, I suppose," remarked Calamity, and, stepping into his little sleeping cabin, he brought out the money-chest which had been taken from the treasure-house in the fort. From this he counted out the equivalent of one thousand pounds, most of it, at the prisoner's request, in American notes.

"You must give me a receipt for these," he said.

The man wrote out a receipt, signed it, and took in exchange the parcel of notes.

"You've promised not to hand me over to the British, remember," said he.

"I shan't forget it," answered the Captain. "There are quite enough scoundrels in English prisons already, without adding to their number."

"And I can't go back to the island."

"I suppose not. Well, I will see what can be done, and in the meantime you had better stay here."

Calamity locked the doc.u.ment in a steel deed-box, placed it under the bunk in his sleeping-cabin, and then went on deck, having previously told Sing-hi to keep watch outside the cabin and not to let the prisoner leave it. He was somewhat puzzled with regard to the promise he had made Fritz Siemann, for, should he be taken to Singapore with the other prisoners, he would certainly be interned. The only way out of it, seemingly, was to put in at some neutral port and land the man there.

Some two hours later he returned to the cabin and found the prisoner seated on the settee ostensibly reading a book.

"I hope," said the Captain quietly, "you find the book entertaining, Mr.

Siemann?"

"Ye--yes, thank you," answered the man rather nervously.