"No' quite a fathom. Doon helm, Jock," said a hoarse voice.
There was a flutter of canvas, and the boat, swinging round, vanished on the other tack.
"What are we going to do?" Whitney asked.
"Anchor as soon as they're far enough off not to hear our chain."
Andrew sculled the _Rowan_ into the channel, and presently dropped the anchor. When she brought up, he went below and lighted the lamp.
"They didn't see us, but I won't want to follow them up the Firth," he explained. "Their boat can cross the flats before we can, and when we landed they'd all have gone. Besides, it might look suspicious if we came up soon afterward. I think we'll wait for daylight."
Whitney put the kettle on the stove and lighted his pipe.
"Well," he said, "I guess it's puzzling, but there's certainly something going on, and it may be something that will mean the loss of another big liner. I expect you see that it ought to be stopped at once."
"Yes," said Andrew firmly. "I mean to stop it."
Whitney nodded and thought for a few moments.
"So far," he contended, "we haven't scored much; it looks as if the opposition were pretty smart. The point you have to answer is this--suppose they do some serious damage before we can stop them?"
"You mean that in trying to keep the thing in my own hands I take a dangerous risk?"
"Yes; but I can't tell you what you ought to do. You're awkwardly fixed."
Andrew leaned back on the locker and grappled with a problem that had troubled him much of late. He was quietly proud of the Johnstones' traditions; and the honor of the family, which had long stood high, was threatened. It was painful to admit that a traitor was making use of Appleyard; but, had there been no other obstacle, Andrew would not have hesitated about denouncing him. The trouble was that if he did so, Elsie must suffer with her guilty relative. To keep silent might enable the plotter to carry out designs which Andrew with his limited powers could not thwart, and his duty to the State was obvious.
He did not want to shirk that duty; he was willing to bear any personal loss, and even bring discredit upon Appleyard, but it did not seem his duty to involve the girl he loved. Elsie had done no wrong, but she was Staffer's niece, and that would be enough to condemn her. Besides, he might be mistaken, and it was unthinkable that he should bring suspicion upon Appleyard until his last doubts had vanished. If Staffer were proved guilty, nobody would believe that Mrs. Woodhouse and Dick were free from blame. And yet Andrew saw that his country must not be left unprotected from the plots of its enemies.