"
"I'll telephone to Scotland Yard, in case they care to send a man down,"
Quest decided. "We must remember, though," he reminded them, "that it will
very likely be a wild-goose chase."
"It won't be the first," Laura observed grimly, "but Craig's on board that
ship all right."...
They caught a train to Southampton, where they were joined by a man from
Scotland Yard. The little party drove as quickly as possible to the docks.
"Where does the _Barton_ start from?" Quest asked the pier-master.
The man pointed a little way down the harbor.
"She's not in dock, sir," he said. "She's lying out yonder. You'll barely
catch her, I'm afraid," he added, glancing at the clock.
They hurried to the edge of the quay.
"Look here," Quest cried, raising his voice, "I'll give a ten pound note
to any one who gets me out to the _Barton_ before she sails."
The little party were almost thrown into a tug, and in a few minutes they
were skimming across the smooth water. Just as they reached the steamer,
however, she began to move.
"Run up alongside," Quest ordered.
"She won't stop, sir," the Captain of the tug replied doubtfully. "She is
an hour late, as it is."
"Do as I tell you," Quest insisted.
They raced along by the side of the great steamer. An officer came to the
rail and shouted down to them.
"What do you want?"
"The Captain," Quest replied.
The Captain came down from the bridge, where he had been conferring with
the pilot.
"Keep away from the side there," he shouted.
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