Page:Guy Boothby--A Bid for Fortune.djvu/296

286 "I like to hear you say that. We've been through a good deal together, haven't we, since we left Europe?"

"We have; and to-night will bring it to a climax, or I'm much mistaken."

"Do you think Nikola will show fight?"

"Not a doubt about it, I should think. If he finds himself cornered he'll probably fight like a demon."

"It's Baxter I want to meet."

"It's Nikola I want. I've a big grudge against him and I want to pay it."

"How little we thought when we were cruising about Bournemouth Bay together that within such a short space of time we should be sailing the South Pacific on such an errand! It seems almost too strange to be possible."

"Never mind. All's well that ends well. So let's hope we're going to be successful to-night. Now I'm going on the bridge to see if I can pick the land up ahead."

I left him and went forward to the captain's side. Dusk had now quite fallen and it was impossible to see very far ahead. A hand had been posted in the fore rigging as a lookout, and every moment we expected to hear his warning, but nearly an hour went by and still it did not come.

Then suddenly the cry rang out, "Land ahead!" and we knew that our destination was in sight. Long before this all our lights had been obscured, and so in the darkness, for a thick pall of cloud covered the sky, we crept up towards the coast. Within a couple of minutes of hearing the hail every man on board was on deck gazing ahead in the direction in which we were proceeding. If all hearts throbbed as mine did