Captain Trent

“ For some while I digested my discovery in private, reflecting how best, and how with most of drama, I might share it with the captain. Then my sketch-book came in my head, and I fished it out from where it lay, with other miscellaneous possessions, at the foot of my bunk, and turned to my sketch of Captain Trent and the survivors of the British brig Flying Scud in the San Francisco bar-room.
“Nares,” said I, “I’ve told you how I first saw Captain Trent in that saloon in ’Frisco? how he came with his men, one of them a Kanaka with a canary-bird in a cage? ”

“ Call him. You have only to say, ‘Captain Monmouth, this woman whom you love is a notorious criminal. All Europe knows her as the Countess. The money that she wants to build her house of love with is stolen money. She will assuredly disgrace your name as she has that of the great family from which she sprang.’”
She looked supplicatingly at Anthony Trent. “You have only to tell him that and there is no happiness left for me in all the world.” ”

“ And the Captain here is an accessory after the fact."
"Arrest him," said Trent, pointing to Kyles.
A policeman advanced and was knocked down. This was the signal for a general fight. Trent held on to Pope Narby like grim death and the miserable creature was whimpering like a soul in pain. The other policemen in the boat managed to get on deck, and one who remained behind sent off a green rocket, as a sign that assistance was required. Apparently Trent, expecting some fighting, had laid his plans excellently. On the moonlit deck a mass of men struggled and strained, with much noise and clamour. ”

“ Captain Monmouth went on, “and we know very few people. Of course we could easily know the wrong sort but that’s dangerous. To-night one of the most popular and influential men in the country is coming.”
Captain Monmouth had no time to mention his name for Madame de Beaulieu came in. It was the first time Trent had met her face to face since that night at the Guestwick’s. He was not without a certain nervousness. Looking at himself in the mirror he seemed so much the product of peroxide that it must easily be recognized. But Madame de Beaulieu gave him the most cursory of glances. ”

“ CHAPTER XLI The Heron steamed at full speed from Southampton to Las Palmas, but she did not travel fast enough for Lady Mildred, who made Captain Samson’s life miserable by the way she worried him.
“Won’t she go any faster, captain?”
“No, my lady. She is doing over twenty-four knots,” he answered reproachfully.
As soon as they arrived at Las Palmas, Lord Lynton hastened ashore and it was not very long before he ascertained that a number of men had left the island to join a cruiser. He returned with this information and there could be no doubt that Gaunt had gone to the Congo. ”

“ We certainly ought to see some fun,” the captain wound up, and there was a merry twinkle in his eye.
“We shall be all right for men below deck, engineers and mechanics, but we are rather short of trained gunners,” Lindsay Drake said, speaking for the first time.
“I dare say I can put my hand on a few men. Please tell me exactly how far you have gone, and then we can make our arrangements,” Armstrong said cheerfully. ”

“ Lady Ethel asked quickly.
“Yes, and shall start as soon as possible. The Heron is at Summers and Payne’s yard, and we will go there and find out Captain Samson’s address.”
An hour later they were in the house of the captain of Gaunt’s yacht, and Lady Mildred at once came to the point.
“Captain, how soon can the Heron start on a long voyage?” she asked.
“A matter of a fortnight, my lady. The engineer is tinkering with his turbines and has got ’em to pieces,” Captain Samson replied.
“What is the shortest time, working night and day?” she insisted. ”

“ Gaunt, I’m with you heart and soul,” the captain said gravely, but his eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“It is a big thing and will require careful consideration. Let us take a day or two to think it over, and then we can have a long talk. Captain Drake, I am glad that you are with us for I think that you can be of great assistance. Drake, will you introduce your brother [Pg 106] to my wife and Lady Ethel? You will find them up-stairs. I am going into the City.”
The brothers stood and watched him leave the room.
“That’s a man,” Captain Drake said with quiet enthusiasm. ”

“ It happened that Trent had known the toastmaster, Captain Alan Kent, when the two had been newspaper cubs together. In those days Kent had been an irresponsible, happy-go-lucky youngster, liked by all for his carefree disposition. To-day, after three years of war, he was a sterner man, in whose eyes shone steadily the conviction of the cause he had espoused. War had purged the dross from him.
“You boys, here,” he said, “haven’t suffered enough. You haven’t seen nations in agony as we have. The theater of war is still too remote. ”

“ Captain Drake said with quiet enthusiasm.
Gaunt flushed at the praise for he felt that he was little deserving of it.
“I am prepared to enter heart and soul into your [Pg 104] plans,” the captain continued; “I have lived among the natives and have always found them decent. I am not one who considers the nigger but little better than the brute. True, their intelligence is not very great, but they can be capable of great loyalty and have a keen sense of gratitude. There isn’t a better fighting man in the world than the properly trained Haussa. ”

“ Trent asked roughly.
The officer looked his man up and down.
“We're in a pretty rough country,” he said, “and a man gets into the habit of having his own way here. But listen to me! If anything happens to your partner here or in Buckomari, you'll have me to reckon with. I shall not forget. We are bound to meet! Remember that!”
Trent turned his back upon him in a fit of passion which choked down all speech. Captain Francis lit a cigarette and walked across towards his camp. ”

“ Now there was Captain Drake’s hurried departure and when she saw his hesitation her conjecture seemed to be verified.
“So Mr. Gaunt is going with you to the Congo?” she insisted.
“I wish you would not ask me these questions, Lady Ethel. I hate to refuse you but already I have been indiscreet. I would willingly tell you everything but in honor I am bound to silence,” he said earnestly.
“You have answered me, and I wish to know what it means. You must be aware that my sister and Mr. Gaunt have quarreled, and if he goes away for a long time, their estrangement may be forever. ”

“ At dinner that night they were all very serious, for they realized that in a very few hours the crisis would come.
“I think that we have been too successful; nothing has gone wrong. No lives lost, and the Congo is at our mercy,” Gaunt remarked.
“Yes, until a cruiser turns up,” Captain Armstrong answered drily.
Edward Drake left the mess-room and went on deck. It was insufferably hot, and he wished to be alone. As he strolled slowly along the deck, his lips moved in prayer, for he understood only too well that the issue lay in the balance. ”

“ Then there was the so-called secretary and the woman who posed now as a maid. And in the house there might be a treasure trove that would make his wildest expenditures justified. Looked at in a cool and reasonable manner it was a very dangerous experiment for Anthony Trent to make. He would be one against four. One man against a gang of international crooks, all the more deadly because they were suave and polished.
It was while he was breakfasting that Captain Monmouth took a seat near him. Trent commanded his waiter to transport his food to Monmouth’s table. ”

“ Trent said gruffly, “that if your two hundred soldiers weren't camped in the bush yonder, you and I and poor Monty would be making sport for them to-night. Now come. Do you think a quarrel with that crew is a serious thing to risk?”
“In the interests of civilisation,” Captain Francis answered, with a smile, “I think not.”
“I don't care how you put it,” Trent answered shortly. “You soldiers all prate of the interests of civilisation. Of course it's all rot. You want the land—you want to rule, to plant a flag, and be called a patriot.” ”

“ They are all in the library,” she said gently, and Lady Mildred did not resist.
They walked arm in arm down the broad staircase, and Lady Ethel whispered earnestly.
“Dearest, be yourself to John. Let him see what is in your heart and all will be right. I am much younger than you, but I think that I am wiser; for I have learned that there is only one thing in the world that matters—love,” she said softly.
“Do you care for Captain Drake?”
But Lady Ethel only smiled, yet there was a flush on her face when they entered the library.
“Where is Mr. Gaunt?” she asked quickly. ”

“ Mr. Gaunt is there, and it is important that we arrive at the earliest possible moment,” Lady Mildred answered, and then proceeded to tell the story of Gaunt’s expedition.
The captain listened in open-eyed amazement, but he no longer hesitated, and orders were given that the yacht should sail at once. To Lady Mildred these few days seemed interminable, and as they drew near her suspense increased. At last the mouth of the Congo came in sight and with the aid of glasses they could see the [Pg 326] many disabled steamers. ”

“ Trent hazarded.
“She has a right to be,” Monmouth said a little stiffly, “she belongs to one of the great families of France.”
Trent, watching him, saw that he believed it. This was a new angle. She had deceived Monmouth without a doubt. For the first time, and the last, Trent observed a certain confusion about Captain Monmouth.
“In confidence,” he said, “Madame de Beaulieu and I are engaged to be married. Captain de Beaulieu and she were negotiating for divorce when the war broke out and we must wait therefore.” ”

“ The South American’s manner was of a suavity that was oppressive, but he evidently had a keen eye to business.
“The position is this,” Gaunt said bluntly. “You haven’t enough money to complete the purchase of the cruiser. As a matter of fact, I know that you won’t require the war-ship for at least six months, for you won’t [Pg 262] be ready till then to deal with your troublesome neighbor. I am willing to pay the balance of a hundred thousand pounds to the builders and you can formally take over the cruiser. You will have as crew our men, and Captain Armstrong will meet you at an agreed place. ”

“ When Captain Monmouth suggested that the match between the two be ridden off on his own grounds near Westbury, Anthony Trent felt certain that he was taken there to be inspected by the other members of the household.
Edward Conway was a taciturn, drink-sodden man not inclined to be friendly with the affable Oscar Lindholm. Of the match little need be said. Trent, a good rider, had engaged to beat a professional at his own game. Captain Monmouth was the richer by a thousand dollars. ”

“ Furthermore, the worthy Bates having fashioned the top thereof in the likeness of a periscope, the victim will think he's being chased by an enemy submarine and have divers fits and spasms in consequence. Do you grasp the idea now?"
"It's pretty feeble, but I think I follow you," answered Trent. "Only you seem to have forgotten one thing, which is that as soon as the fog lifts and the skipper spots your barrel he'll pot it with his quick-firer. Then we shall read a hair-raising account of how the captain of the Cotswold sank a U boat which had been following her all night." ”

“ But a lawyer must look at facts. One Cassius Trent––”
“Take care!”
“Be quiet, Marty! Go on, Mr. Hale,” ordered the little captain.
“Cassius Trent was the man whose hitherto probity and enthusiasm had enlisted the interest of his New York friends. He represented that his projected community would not only be an excellent investment for their money, but a benefaction to humanity. They believed him and–well, their money is gone, their community has not even a beginning, and the man is dead. He seems to have been a person––”
“A white gentleman, sir!” ”

“ He had an amiable daughter, and had my heart not been lost in six different places, I think I should have sent it to cruise in her snug little boudoir. The captain, as the people who were ill had nearly recovered, thought His Majesty’s ship should no longer lie idle. We bade adieu to our kind friends, and once more made the water fly [pg 161] before us. Three days more brought us off the Havannah, where we joined the Trent and Alarm frigates. Nothing worth noticing occurred until the Trent, which was in chase of a vessel, ran on a coral reef off Matanzas. ”

“ Colliver demanded. He feared he was to be robbed of interesting details.
"I'm a lawyer by profession," Captain Sutton returned, "and I know how people talk even when they mean to be silent. Anthony Trent is a friend of mine and I shall constitute myself his counsel. He served under me in the war, was recommended for a commission, and won the Croix de Guerre. He is an American with enough money to play golf and flyfish for trout all he wants to. ”

“ Gaunt answered, “for I have other work for your brother. The engineers and artificers will be easily found, for we are willing to pay them well. But the other men will require careful selection. [Pg 224] We shall want a number of men with military training, and can you find them? They must not be ‘wasters,’ and they must be able to hold their tongues. My present idea is that these men should concentrate at the Canary Islands where the cruiser could pick them up. Can I leave this part of the business in your hands?” Gaunt asked of Captain Drake. ”