Herman Cyril McNeile

“ Apparently no guard was considered necessary for him now the yacht was under way. And with a feeling of impotent rage, Drummond realized how easy it would be to cut the ropes and go quietly overboard. A swim of a mile or so meant nothing to him. If only it hadn't been for the professor——
No; the last hope—the only hope—lay in Ted Jerningham. Once that failed, it seemed to Drummond that nothing could save them. And it was perfectly clear that by no possibility could he hope to communicate with Ted from his present position. He must be free to use his limbs. ”

“ Few things in my life have afforded me so much pleasure as the fact that you were swindled out of half a million. I wish it had been more. For the man who carried this coup through, one can feel a certain unwilling admiration; for you, one can feel only the most unmitigated contempt.”
“How dare you speak like that?” spluttered the other, but Drummond was taking no further notice of him.
“That was your second error, Carl. You ought to have come into the motor boat. I assure you I had a dreadful time dragging that poor old chap underneath it, as you crossed our stern.” ”

“ He stared at Blackton with a sort of fascinated horror. The reason for Lewisham's visit to Professor Goodman was clear, and he shuddered uncontrollably.
“I rather believe it was,” murmured Blackton, dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand. He turned again to Drummond. “So Professor Goodman is restored to his family once more. I trust he has suffered no ill effects from his prolonged immersion.”
“None at all, thank you,” answered Drummond. “Somewhat naturally he is angry. In fact, for a mild and gentle old man, he is in what might be described as the devil of a temper.” ”

“ And as the sailors dipped in their oars to row back to the yacht, the motor boat circled slowly around
“Good night, sir.” Mr. Robinson waved a courteous hand. “And again a thousand thanks.”
“And again don't mention it,” returned Jerningham, sitting down by the tiller. “You can take your wrap off his hand now, Pat,” he whispered. “They can't see.”
A vast hand grasping the gunwale was revealed as she did so, and an agonized whisper came from the water.
“Hurry, old man, for the love of Pete! Unless we can hold the old man upside down soon to drain the water out of him, he'll drown.” ”

“ He turned to Drummond, but he had disappeared, only to dash on deck a moment or two later with Ted behind him.
“Every ounce you can get out of her, Ted. Rip her to pieces, if necessary. That infernal scoundrel has blown up the yacht.”
The motor boat spun around, and like a living beast gathered speed. The bow waves rose higher and higher, till they stood four feet above the gunwales, to fall away stern into a mass of seething white. ”

“ The words seemed to be wrung from Blackton by a force greater than his own and Drummond looked at him thoughtfully. There was no doubt about it—Peterson's nerve had gone.
“ON the contrary—very human, indeed,” Drummond murmured. “Even as you, Carl. To err is human—and you erred once. ”

“ Drummond glanced around. He could see no one. The structure in which he had been hoisted on board, effectively screened him from the bridge; the sailors were apparently having their evening meal. And taking a quick breath, he prepared to make a sprint for the side, when he saw something else which completely altered his plans. Leaning over the side of the yacht he was watching were a man and a woman. And the man was Ted Jerningham himself.
Drummond saw him focus a pair of field glasses, and turn them on the Gadfly. ”

“ WHEN a terrific explosion occurs in the Goodman laboratory, with tragic results for the worthy professor whose workshop it is, Bulldog Drummond becomes suspicious. For it seems to him a most opportune accident for a number of people. In particular, for the men who have vast diamond interests—in jeopardy at the moment because of Professor Goodman's recent discovery of a method of manufacturing flawless stones at a small cost. ”

“ Stung! Utterly, absolutely, completely stung! And to think that that darned girl fixed the whole thing under my very nose.” For a moment he stood undecided; then at a run he started along the corridor, “After 'em, mes braves. Another motor boat is the only chance.”
There was another moored close in shore, and into it they all tumbled followed by Ted Jerningham and Algy Longworth whom they had roused from their slumbers in the lounge. Ted, as the authority, took charge of the engine—only to peer at it once, and start laughing.
“What's the matter?” snapped Drummond. ”

“ In fact, he dies astonishingly quickly. People fall down these cracks accidentally sometimes.” Drummond paused hopefully. “That's a pretty original idea, Carl, don't you think?”
“Am I to understand,” said Blackton harshly, “that you propose that one or the other of us fall down a crevasse in a glacier?”
“Yes, that is my proposal,” answered Drummond. “You and I, Carl, will go unarmed to a glacier. We will there find a suitable deep crevasse. And on the edge of that crevasse”—his voice changed suddenly—“we will fight for the last time with our bare hands. It's that or the police, Peterson. ”

“ A great mass of foam was around its mouth, and it was brandishing a marline spike, and bellowing. A terrifying spectacle in the half light of dusk—a spectacle to put the fear of God into any man. And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. ”

“ Why Carl, for instance, ought to have looked in the motor boat, and how you got concussion.”
Drummond looked at her steadily.
“I find you a little difficult to understand, Mademoiselle. I trust you are under no delusions as to whether I am bluffing or not. You can at any rate settle one point in your mind by glancing outside the door.” ”

“ Robinson, who had just dashed on deck, holding a limp right arm, but no man moved. Only a loud splash broke the silence, and the stern was empty.
“Man overboard. Lower a boat. Stop the yacht, you cursed fool!” snarled Mr. Robinson to the captain, and then he rushed to the stern. It was a couple of minutes before a boat was lowered, and while he waited he heard the roar of an engine coming nearer. Then the engine ceased, and he saw the outline of a motor boat,
“That boat may have picked 'em up, sir,” said the captain, as Mr. Robinson ran down the gangway into the waiting cutter. ”

“ With which profound simile he relapsed into silence, which was only broken when the boat drew up alongside the yacht.
“He thinks he's safe, which is where he goes into the mulligatawny up to his neck. Put these fellows on shore, Ted, give me a change of clothes and then run me over to Lymington.”
DRUMMOND had made up his mind to kill Peterson, but he wanted to do it in such a manner that it would appeal to his sense of art. And with Drummond the sense of art was synonymous with the sense of fair play. He would give Peterson a fair chance to fight for his life. ”

“ Even if we couldn't see them, we could hear them.”
“Sink in a brace of shakes with a holy terror like that 'anging round yer neck,” said one of the sailors.
“Yes, I'm afraid there can be no possibility of saving them now,” Ted Jerningham agreed. “Doubtless, however, their bodies will be washed ashore in time.”
"Er—doubtless,” murmured Mr. Robinson. That aspect of the case had already struck him, and had not pleased him in the slightest degree. Had he been able to conform with his original plan, neither body would ever have been seen again. ”

“ You said that two copies of the professor's notes were excessive. I agree—but I go further: One is too much. The process is altogether too dangerous. If the police take you—it doesn't matter; but if you accept my terms you've got to hand over that copy to me now. And I shall burn it. I don't mind running the risk of being killed; but if I am you're not going to get away with the other thing too.” Drummond glanced at his watch. “I give you half a minute to decide.”
The seconds dragged by and Blackton stared in front of him. ”

“ But dangerous things to play tricks with. There are great cracks in them, you know—deep cracks with walls of solid ice. If a man falls down on cracks, unless help is forthcoming he won't live long, Carl. ”

“ Therefore, Drummond interviews the members of a diamond syndicate whose president, Sir Raymond Blantyre, knew of the professor's secret process and had offered him a huge sum to suppress it. Drummond tells these men a fact of which they are obviously ignorant: that the professor's notes had not been destroyed in the explosion, as they supposed, but were in the hands of another man, a Professor Scheidstrun. He further suggests that Sir Raymond go with him to see the German chemist. ”

“ Fust a madman jumps overboard with another bloke—and they both drowns. Then 'alf-an-hour later there comes the 'ell of an explosion from below; the 'ole deck goes sky 'igh. We 'eeled right over, and in 'alf-a-minute she sank.”
“Anybody else saved?” asked Drummond. ”