He crept forward silently, and the woman was not aware of his approach until he had thrown the towel across her lips and drawn it tightly against them. And then, while she struggled, trying in vain to escape, Nick Carter stepped in front of her, and said, quietly, and in the French language:
“Be calm, madame. You are in no danger, and you shall not suffer the slightest harm, I assure you.”
“This is not precisely the costume in which I should have preferred to present myself to you, madame,” continued the detective, with a smile. “Bathing-suits were necessary, under the circumstances, inasmuch as we were obliged to swim out to the _Shadow_ in order to get aboard of her at all. And, in order to relieve your mind, I will tell you how we did it: We came aboard at the moment when your husband—or his brother, for, like yourself, I have no idea which one of the Counts of Cadillac the gentleman who has just left you happens to be—followed by his men, boarded the _Aurora_. After that we hid beneath the table in the adjoining cabin while you went forward. When you did that, we came in here; and you know the rest.
“Now, madame, I dislike exceedingly to inconvenience you, but I must ask you to point out to me which is your own stateroom, and you must go into it, and remain there until the remainder of our work is done. That work, as you no doubt guess, is to capture the captain and crew of this vessel.
“I know that you are not a pirate in your sympathies any more than you are in fact, and I can assure you that you have nothing to dread personally. I overheard your conversation with Captain Sparkle just now.
“You cannot answer me, so I will continue as though you had done so.
“We do not wish to be disturbed in the work we have to do, and you must not be permitted to give an alarm. Now, there are two ways to prevent you from doing so; one is to force that towel inside your jaws, and so to gag you so that you cannot cry out; but that would be an indignity which I dislike to commit. The other is to accept your word that you will not attempt to cry out, or in any way to communicate an alarm to any person on this vessel while you are inside that room. I am sure if you give your word you will keep it, for I have just heard you state that the honor of your own family is your greatest solicitude. Chick, you may take away the towel. Now, madame, will you make me the promise I require?”