Holgate

“ The captain would judge of the third officer's incredulity by his own, and would be therefore willing to accept the story of the "spoof." But then he had not seen Holgate's face, and he had not heard Holgate.
Even I was staggered by the turn things had taken, though infuriated by my treatment. And it did me no good to see Holgate's face smiling at me as I went down the gangway.
"Oh, doctor, doctor, are you a Scotchman?" he whispered; at which I would have turned on him savagely, but held myself in and passed on and was silent. I have always found the value of caution. ”

“ Holgate indicated Barraclough. "If he had carried out his part I was prepared to carry out mine; as he hasn't——" He left his end in space.
"You haven't the treasure?" I cried in surprise; but Holgate's gaze had gone beyond us and was directed at something down the corridor. I moved my head with difficulty, and, as I did so, I saw Holgate take a revolver from one of his men. He sat fingering it; and that was all I observed, for my eyes, slewing round, had caught sight of the Prince and Princess. ”

“ Lights or no lights, Holgate will attack presently—I will not pin myself to to-night. He is where he wants to be, or will be soon. Then he has no use for us"—I paused—"women or men."
"Good God, do you think him that sort of scoundrel?" he inquired sharply.
"What has he done? Played with us as a cat with mice. Oh, he's the most unholy ruffian I've ever struck. And you know it. Look at his face. No, Barraclough, it's death, it's death to every man jack." ”

“ Holgate had come to a pause on the outer edge of the group and was observing the scene with interest. He made no movement. Death touched us with the breath of his passage.
An arm was flung sharply about me. "If you die, I die too!" cried a voice—a voice, ah, so well remembered and so dear! Ah, Heaven! Was it Alix?
A pistol barked, and I swerved, almost losing my feet. If we must die, we should die hard. I fired, and one of the mutineers uttered an exclamation.
"Stay there," called Holgate. "Easy, men. Don't let's kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. ”

“ It was the truth I had spoken, but now I was to bluff.
"Well, I will prove my words," said I. "You asked me where the treasure is, and I'll tell you. It was removed from Holgate's hiding-place by me and hidden in Pye's cabin, and afterwards the Prince and I removed it again and concealed it."
"Where! Where!" shouted several voices; but Holgate did not budge or speak.
If we saved this situation, we should at least have a respite, another chance. There was no alternative but death.
"Why, in its proper place, to be sure," said I. "In the strong-room, where it should be. ”

“ Holgate puzzled me for a third officer, until I reflected that in these days every officer had a master's licence. Yet that this man should not by the force of his evident individuality take higher rank in life surprised me. What, however, was of most immediate concern to me was the extreme friendliness of my two companions. Lane was well enough in his way, and certainly had shown his goodwill; but Holgate was more than this to a lonely man with an appetite for society. Holgate was intelligent. ”

“ I saw Holgate's fat bull neck and body lean to one side and drop awkwardly, and then an exclamation sprang up on my left, where Gray and another were holding Barraclough captive. The bullet had gone over Holgate's head as he dodged it and had found its home in Sir John's heart. His body dropped between the captors. The Princess gave a cry of horror. Holgate cast a glance behind him.
"You're too mighty dangerous," he said easily, and put up his own weapon. But before it could reach the level, the Prince with a slight start clapped the revolver to his own head and pulled the trigger. "Alix!" ”

“ Immediately on that there was a loud rapping on the door near us.
"When I've played my cards and fail, gentlemen," said Holgate's voice, "I'll resign the game into your hands."
"What is it?" shouted Barraclough. "Fire, and be hanged!"
"You mistake, Sir John," called out Holgate. "We're not anxious for another scrap. We've got our bellies full. All we want is a little matter that can be settled amicably. ”

“ I had my doubts whether Lewis Holgate was as good a friend as ever; for, being degraded from the locomotive to the dummy would rankle in his heart, however well he succeeded in concealing his real feelings.
“You haven’t resigned your situation as captain of the steamer—have you, Wolf?” asked the little major, with a sinister expression. ”

“ I spoke deliberately and looked him in the face fully.
"What may that be?" he asked, meeting my gaze.
"You would not keep your word," I said.
He shook his head. "You're wrong, doctor, you're wholly wrong. You haven't got my measure yet, hanged if you have. I thought you had a clearer eye. What interest have I in your destruction? None in the world."
"Credit me with some common sense, Holgate," I replied sharply. "Dead men tell no tales."
"Nor dead women," he said meaningly, and I shuddered. "But, good Lord! I kill no man save in fight. Surrender, and I'll keep the wolves off you. ”

“ Gray gesticulated, indicating me, and Holgate stood passively looking at me. Suddenly the ex-boatswain put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a revolver and presented at me. It was the work of a moment. Holgate struck his arm up, and the bullet whizzed past me and banged into the chart-house.
"Steady there, doctor," said Holgate. "Glad to see you. Just in time, wasn't I? Step along down there." I moved towards the ladder and descended to the lower deck, where Holgate met me.
"Difficult to keep our respective men in hand, isn't it, doctor?" ”

“ I went to Holgate. "Really," said I lightly, "I find there are more honest men in this ship than I had anticipated."
I don't think he liked that. "You've got twelve," he said drily. "And there's more than thirty with us."
"You forget one thing," I said. "We have the wheel, and to-morrow you may find yourselves steaming cheerfully up the river to Buenos Ayres, like any good liner."
"That would be a pity, wouldn't it?" he said with a grin. "But you also forget one thing doctor—that is, I've got the engines. Supposing those engines stopped?" ”

“ I walked towards him, for the light that streamed in by the open hatchway sufficed to reveal him.
"Anything wrong with you?" said I casually.
"Well, I could do with a bit more light and a smoke, sir," said the man, respectfully cheerful. But it was not his words; it was his action that arrested me, for he jerked his thumb incessantly as he spoke towards the darker recesses of the hold.
"All right, my man," said I. "I'll speak to Mr. Holgate. He oughtn't to keep you in such close confinement if you are to remain human beings." ”

“ Pye mixed the toddy, and we smoked more or less at our ease. I spoke of my patient, in answer to a question, as one suffering from sea-sickness.
"What's she like?" inquired Holgate.
"I should say handsome," I rejoined. "I understood from Mr. Pye that she is French."
"I think I heard so," said Pye, "but you could tell."
"Well, she spoke French," I said with a smile.
Pye's smile seemed to commend my reticence, but Holgate, ignoring the obvious retort on me, pursued a different subject.
"Upon my soul, I envy people like those millionaires. ”

“ Where's your spy?"
"So," says Holgate, "you are thinking of the doctor's story, are you? You fool, he was only playing for his life and the life of his best girl. Haven't you got the sense of a louse between you? Find Pye then, and screw it out of him. Thumbscrew him till he tells, and see how much he has to tell. It'll be worth your while, Garratt. Why, you fool, he's just a little clerk that was useful, and was going to get a tip for his pains. ”

“ He led me to the bunks, and I examined the wounded men. One was beyond hope; the other was but slightly injured; and I told Holgate the truth. He nodded.
"I don't much want Coyne," he said musingly. "I've no use for him. He's a bungler."
The cold-blooded way in which he delivered this heartless criticism raised in me a feeling of nausea. I was moving away when he stopped me.
"Stay; you're not going back empty-handed, doctor, after all your kindness. Any one you'd like to see?"
I thought. "Yes," said I. "Naylor or Williams." ”

“ When I had done, Lane whistled, the Prince's brow was black, but Barraclough's face was impassive. He looked at me.
"Then you are of opinion that Holgate is running this show for himself?" he asked.
"I will wager ten to one on it," I answered. "That's like him. He'll leave the others in the lurch if he can. He's aiming at it. And he'll leave Pye there, too, I shouldn't wonder. And if so, what sort of a man is that to make terms with?"
Barraclough made no answer. For a man of his even nature he looked troubled. ”

“ Perhaps that was the reason why the captain devoted his attention to me. His voice was that of a cultivated man, and he seemed to converse on the same level of cultivation. He made a figure apart from the rest of the company, to which little Pye was now joined, and as I looked down and across the table (from which only Holgate was absent on duty) their marvellous unlikeness to him struck me. Even Sir John Barraclough and Lane seemed by comparison more or less of a piece, though the first officer ignored the purser quite markedly. ”

“ But he had more leisure at supper, to which he invited me in his cabin.
"We chaps have the benefit of a pleasure yacht, doctor," said he, winking, "and you bet I'm not purser for nothing. Blame me if I sup with that crew until they shake down a bit. Barraclough's all right, and a gentleman, but I can't stand Legrand or Holgate."
"I've met Mr. Holgate, and thought him intelligent," I ventured.
Lane emitted scorn. "Intelligent! He's a bladder of peas, and thinks himself a monarch. Precious little swank about him, if he can help it. He's fly enough there. Well, a tot won't hurt us now. ”

“ Pye smiled. "No; I'm not," he said, "and please don't remind me of it"; at which we all laughed and grew friendly again. "Well, this is a funny sort of tea for me," said the clerk presently. "I generally patronise the A.B.C.," and he rose to go.
Holgate did not move, but sat staring at the fire, which shone on his broad placid face. "I knew a man once," he observed, "who kept his own counsel."
"I hope he was a lawyer," said Pye humourously.
"No; he was a steward—the steward of an estate in the North. In the hills was the wealth of a millionaire; coal, doctor," Holgate looked at me. ”

“ I assented. "Provided you can trust to Holgate's word. But would he let us off at any price and run the risk? And, moreover, the Prince. What of him?"
"He would refuse. He wouldn't budge. He's a nuisance," said Barraclough moodily. "He's our stumbling-block."
"Quite so; and if we all caved in but Mr. Morland, what must his fate be? And we should look on, shouldn't we? And then go home in a tramp steamer, a happy family party with a nice little secret of our own. Ten, twelve, well, say, sixteen of us. I can see Holgate trusting to that, and comfortably lolling back in Yokohama deck-chairs ”

“ I am perfectly safe for the present. They are taken up with more important matters."
I squeezed her hands in both mine, turned and left her.
Holgate was some hundred yards in front of me, plunging heavily through the bushes. He called to mind some evil and monstrous beast of the forest that broke clumsily in wrath upon its enemy.
Down on the beach I could see that Pierce and some of the others, who had already arrived, were casting the boat from her moorings. I laboured after Holgate, and came out on the beach near him. ”

“ When she had gone he turned on me.
"What the devil do you want interfering, Phillimore?" he demanded. "I'm in charge here."
There never was a man so insensate. I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, it was not my interference that was successful," I said curtly.
He walked abruptly to the window and opened it wider I could not be mistaken as to the bulky form that blocked it.
"Nice music, captain," said Holgate's wheezing voice.
"I'll give you just three seconds to quit, or I'll put a hole through you, you infernal rascal," said Barraclough savagely, raising his revolver. ”

“ We looked at each other now. "Jerusalem!" said Lane. "What a savage! He's made sure of us, then."
"He can wait his time," I said. "He has waited, and can wait longer. The ship's in his hands."
"You take a gloomy view, sir," observed the Prince with a frown.
"Well, Mr. Morland," I replied drily. "I don't think we're here to glaze matters over. We've got to face things, and one of these things is that Holgate hasn't worried us since he got possession. ”

“ He was an abject creature now, and clung to his bunk, keeping out of the Prince's way and Barraclough's as much as possible, and pestering me with his consultations.
"I believe I should be better, doctor, if we were to get into warmer weather," he said pleadingly. "Cold does affect a man's nerves, doesn't it?"
"Well, you'll have to make love to Holgate, if you want that," said I drily. "We're at his mercy."
We were all, I think, conscious of that, if we did not always openly acknowledge the fact. Yet it was astonishing that no attack was made on the state-rooms. ”

“ From the deck a noise broke loudly, and Lane joined us.
"Another attack," said he. "They're bound to have us now."
I said nothing. Barraclough was listening at the farther end, and I think Princess Alix had turned her attention from Mademoiselle. I heard Holgate's voice lifted quite calmly in the racket:
"It's death to two, at all events. So let me know who makes choice. You, Garrison?"
"Let's finish the job," cried a voice. "We've had enough," and there was an outcry of applause. ”