“That was real considerate of him, don’t you think so, Mr. Carter?” asked Mrs. Kane.
“Why, yes. But how did he carry out the idea?”
“He merely ordered me to go below and call them. He directed me to tell them that a party of gentlemen had called unexpectedly, and that I insisted upon their coming on deck at once, in order that they might meet with a great surprise, and that they were to promise me that they would not be frightened, no matter what they saw.
“‘That,’ he assured me, ‘will arouse their curiosity, so that they will not consider it a bore to dress themselves again, and do as you ask.’ You see, he knows something about women, that chap.”
“Did he go below again?” asked the detective.
“Nay, nay—not on your life! The pirate stuck close beside me all the while, and he held that naked, flat sword in his hand, too. I didn’t like the looks of it a little bit.”
“So you called your wife and her sister, eh?”
“Protest! I should say so! My wife flatly refused to come, at first; and she wouldn’t have come, either, if I hadn’t told her that the whole blooming push would come down there and pull her out, willy-nilly, if she didn’t obey. Bessie didn’t raise a kick. She thought there was some fun on hand, and she is always ripe for that sort of thing. The count swore like a——”
“Now it is my turn to protest, Kane,” said the count.
“Well, I heard you, and it did me good, for I wanted to do a little swearing myself. I have never felt quite so small in my life as I did just then.
“Well, Nick, after I did the calling, we returned to the deck. The pirate’s followers had not moved from their position in line, and they didn’t until the chief waved his hand, and then they fell apart into groups, for all the world as if they were a lot of guests whom I had invited to the yacht. But he didn’t join them—not he. Instead, he dropped into that chair where the count is seated, and said coolly:
“‘Mr. Kane, I am Captain Sparkle. When your guests come on deck, I will thank you to present me to them.’”
“Let me talk, now!” exclaimed Bessie. “I was the first one to reach the deck after you called us, Max.”
“All right. I’ve no objections. I feel like seven different kinds of a jay, anyhow, when I tell this story; and, by the great boot in Chatham Street, Nick, I’d willingly give up a million rather than go through with it again! All the same, I want those race cups back again, if I can get them.”