“Oh no, sir!” cried she, immeasurably relieved by his words, “whatever may have induced Mr. Talbot to leave us, I am sure that he has acted for the best. You judge rightly,” she added, “in supposing that I have other cause of anxiety than what proceeds from our detention, which, if we be not most unjustly dealt by, must terminate so soon. I have not dared to tell my brother what horrid fears distract me, for I know he would attempt something violent, that would most probably separate us, and I love my only protector.”
“Our fears then are not unfounded, and the mystery of that night is partly solved,” said the lieutenant, in a soliloquizing tone.
“What night? Of what mystery do you speak?” exclaimed the lady.
“Of the night you came on board. But is it possible you are ignorant of what I allude to?”
“I have not the most remote idea; Frank and I slept soundly the whole night, and did not awake until late the next morning. I remember that at first we thought that an attempt was being made to stupefy or smother us with something that was burned, but, as we were not molested, we concluded that we had been mistaken. For God’s sake, tell me what happened?”
“Young lady,” he answered, “I have ever since sought an opportunity to speak to you; why is it that you have confined yourself below?”
“We often wished to come up,” she replied, “but were told that the count was too ill to be consulted, and that without his permission we could not leave the cabin. But do tell me all about that night, I implore you.”
The lieutenant then informed her of the condition in which the count was found the next morning, and the general belief of the officers that his villainous design had been frustrated by Talbot or Gonzalez, who must have been concealed in the cabin. They conversed for some time, and before leaving her, he advised her, as the count was nearly well, to keep always near her brother, and to write a note to the American Consul in Havana, claiming his protection, promising that if she would send her note to him he would forward it at once to its destination.
With diminished fear, and in a comparatively cheerful mood, Miss Gillespie returned to the cabin, and repeated to her brother such parts of her conversation with the lieutenant as she thought she could safely confide to him.